Frozen: An Unofficial Novelization
by Piccolo Sky
Summary: An unofficial novelization of the new Disney movie: "Frozen". When the older of two royal sisters born with powers over ice and snow accidentally unleashes an eternal winter, her younger sister embarks on an adventure to save her kingdom and her sibling, and in the process discovers the meaning of "true love" is a lot closer than she realizes. Slightly more mature than the film.
1. Prologue - The Lay of the Icemen

First off..."Frozen" is the property of Walt Disney Pictures and the Disney company and everything else Disney does and none of this is my own work.

Hey everyone. Here's a side project I did. It's pretty much just what the title says it is. This isn't part of my "Lesser Known Fairy Tale" series, just another quick thing I did.

I loved "Frozen"...and I'm not even a Disney movie fan anymore. It brought back memories of back in the day when I still had such wonder and delight whenever I went to see a new Disney movie. It was just fantastic, and I loved the plot. I really wish everyone would see it...but I know full well some people don't want to throw down money on seeing a Disney film in theaters, or don't want to rent it, or simply don't have time. That's why I wrote this, hoping people would read it if nothing else, because I want to "spread the love". Even if you read this and like it, you should still see it because the musical numbers are fantastic, especially "Let It Go". (Why aren't they playing it on the radio?! And the Idina Menzel version at that...)

Now then...some warnings.

I did indeed "add" a bit to this, mostly in terms of dialogue, interior monologue, history, and (slightly) expanded scenes. By my count, aside from the prologue which you are about to read, I added a grand total of two short "brand new" scenes that weren't at all in the movie but I felt helped make things a bit more "complete". The plot has not been altered in any way if that's what you're expecting, although I did try to make some of it only slightly more "mature". VERY slightly. There is actually light profanity in one or two spots, but only because I felt it natural for the characters, as adults, to say it at that time, and it's so minor I'm not even giving a higher rating.

I did not copy the music and dance sequences verbatim. Rather, I tried to "condense" or "prose-translate" those sequences to convey the major feelings, snippits of dialogue, and what have you during those sequences. Hopefully that doesn't ruin your enjoyment, but it doesn't seem to be terribly realistic to have characters spontaneously break into song.

That said...I hope you enjoy. And if you really don't like new stuff...please proceed directly to chapter one as soon as it's up.

Hope you enjoy! See the movie!

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_Prologue - "The Lay of the Icemen"_

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At about eight in the evening starting at the fifteenth of April, people who lived as far as fifteen miles away would begin to hear the song of the icemen echoing down the valley.

It was the last of the "old songs"…dating back many countless centuries. Long before a Christian king and queen had laid claim to the throne. Long before the city and all of its surrounding lands and mountains was renamed "Arendelle". In those times, singing was more frequent. Not just amongst the icemen, who to this day were the oldest and most "native" of the original denizens of Arendelle, but among everyone. Most of them ceased when the old stories were ordered to be silenced and for the people to embrace a new order. When idols and temples to individuals like Odin, Frigga, Thor, Balder, and all the others were torn down and chapels and altars erected. This song lingered behind among the icemen, and those in power let it. They cared little for a few trace superstitions passed among a folk already half-outcast, secluded, and withdrawn.

Of course, that was only half of the story. The other part was that the rulers possibly, deep in their heart of hearts, lent an ear to the lay and heeded it.

Arendelle had been a tempting target when it was resettled around 1100 A.D. Resting in one of the fjords of Norway, it always seemed to be a land set apart from all the rest. The sea about it always teemed with a magnificent bounty. Rich catches of fish, excellent whaling, and calm waters with good winds that gave it access to all other city-states to the north and south. It was always sunny and warm during the summer…ever so much more than the rest of the coast, for the sea seemed to constantly bring warm breezes to cover it, allowing the timber in the country to grow tall and strong and constantly keeping the frosty, ice-covered mountains that surrounded it at bay. The sun seemed warmer longer, and even the mild winters were so gentle from the standpoint of a Norwegian that it was considered pleasant, and ships could freely come and go even then.

The indigenous residents proved to be a gentle folk. And though they were forced to assimilate their culture to the new king of Norway, and adopted much of the customs and forsook the old, through either a combination of luck, oversight, or just cleverness, when Norway's briefly lived "empire" was broken, Arendelle secured its freedom as a sovereign nation along with all of the other various isles and city-states. And among them all, due to the gifts of warmth and the sea, it prospered far above all others. Truly, the "jewel of the northern lands", which all flocked to see.

The "dynasty" that had reigned there for well over 500 years at this point attributed it to divine blessings. The people attributed it to good fortune. The scholars and "men of learning" claimed it was due to good breezes that warmed England making their way all the way to Norway and that one little spot of land.

The icemen, however, had a different theory…and sang the legend every time they went out, echoing it up and down the icy mountain valleys.

Thousands upon thousands of years ago, the "Aesir", or gods, risked a war with the "Joten", or frost giants…the lovers of cold, frost, and darkness. One of the lords of the Joten, Skadi, a Joten as beautiful as she was deadly and one with winter itself, demanded as one of her conditions for peace to marry one of the Aesir, ensuring her own place among their ranks. Through an act of trickery, she ended up married to Njord, god of the seas. The marriage was doomed to failure from the start. Njord was a man of the sea who preferred the warm coasts, while Skadi preferred the cold, barren wastes of her homeland. Eventually, they decided to separate.

However, to ensure that her marriage was not "annulled" and her position as the goddess of winter was not nullified, their last act as a married couple was to establish a land where both would share dominion. Under mutual agreement, they consented that for six months, Njord would bring the blessings of warm waters and breezes into the land and batter the cold and frost back to the mountains, and for the next six Skadi would bring blizzards and winter down from the mountains to freeze the fjord and cover the land with snow. Therefore, all men and women who dwelt there would be forced to acknowledge both as the gods of the land.

Skadi returned to her home country, and for six months Njord reigned over the land. Men and women moved there and rejoiced in the ample bounty that was presented to them. Yet when the six months were over and Skadi came to take domain, the people were no longer happy…nor did they remain in the land. They retreated at once and left the country to freeze. For a few years Skadi endured this…until her anger grew too great at Njord being embraced and she being rejected, and she brought forth a powerful winter that kept anyone from being able to leave the country until the six months had transpired. But when half of the people died as a result after the first month, Njord brought forth his own warm sea breezes, which, in turn, drove Skadi back and ended the winter.

Although by now Skadi had found happiness with another god more suited to her nature, she believed the land was partially hers by right, and that Njord had violated his half of the agreement. Yet her appeal to Odin went unanswered, and her appeal to her own Joten was rejected, as they did not wish to start a war over one parcel of land. Skadi was forced to relinquish her claim to the land, and Njord held full dominion both in summer and winter, making the summers productive and the winters mild. People moved in as a result permanently.

Skadi, however, was not done.

Intent that she should have a say in the kingdom, she intended to give her power to the rulers of the kingdom, with the thought that they would embrace the power and embrace winter. However, being a Joten, she did not know of the power that she possessed compared to a weak mortal, or what the result would be. Hence, when she approached the first born son of the first chief and blew a shard of ice into his heart, with the intent of giving him her power, he at once turned into a statue of pure ice. As that failed, she approached the second son some time later and blew a shard of ice into his heart, but that too turned him into a statue of pure ice.

By now, the chief had only his third son left and was stricken by grief over losing his two eldest, and when he cried out, the gods heard. A bit later, while the third son was out hunting and in a rocky valley, Skadi again came upon him and attempted to blow a shard of ice into his heart. But at that moment, the Aesir struck the rocks, and instantly they sprang to life as trolls. The one nearest the third son popped up and struck him in the leg at that moment, causing him to double over in pain and the shard to hit his head instead. As the legend goes, the heart contains the center of a person, but the head is filled with many conflicting thoughts and falsities that keeps one from knowing a person's true nature. The third son, as a result, grew cold and ill, but did not turn instantly to a statue of pure ice as his brothers had.

The trolls were then commanded by the Aesir to remove the ice from the third son's head to restore him. As they went about doing so, Skadi appeared and argued fiercely once again that her claim had been stolen from her, and she threatened to slay the third son unless Odin agreed to hear her claim. This time, he did so, and in the end he made a compromise. He swore an oath by the nine realms that the next daughter born on the first day of winter would belong to Skadi, even if she was of a kingly line. Finally satisfied with this, Skadi withdrew and allowed the trolls to restore the third son.

From that day forth, the songs gave a warning to beware the ice of Arendelle…for it held a power to it like no other, as if Skadi left a bit of herself behind in it. They were also cautioned to take care that no child was ever born on the first day of winter, and to "beware the frozen heart".

And for centuries, in spite of all of the new customs and "modernization" of Arendelle, those words were heeded by the citizens…the one superstition that they laid claim to. No one would dare conceive in March or April for fear that a child would be born on the first day of winter nine months later. There were stories of young women wearing self-made chastity belts to prevent such from happening on the off chance some foul man would seize them in that time. People feared the myth so much that there had even been rather crude, illegal, and often fatal abortions for a child who looked to be born in that time period, although such actions were often rare. This was a myth that all took seriously in that time, no matter how much they professed to disdain the "heathen gods".

Yet that had ended at last.

The current king of Arendelle had not chosen a wife from the native country, but rather went abroad for two years in search of one. When he returned, it was with a beautiful brown-haired princess from one of the western islands, generally considered warmer and more "modern" than all other lands within the commonwealth of city-states, with better concepts of culture, society, philosophy, and science. However, she had fallen for the king and decided to go to his homeland on hearing of the beauty and wonder of Arendelle. The day she disembarked from the boat and looked about the main city, she seemed totally captivated and marveled at how such a warm, inviting, and alive place could exist in Norway, who most thought of as a barren and desolate region. Not long after, she was married and the marriage was consummated…

In late March.

The king himself had heeded the superstitions as a young man, but his time abroad has lessened their power over him until, on his wife's advice, he had discarded them completely. He no longer paid heed to the lay of the icemen, regarding it as a foolish myth, and thought no more of any legends of "dead heathen gods". Even when his advisors thought to question him, he would hear none of it. And they themselves, supposed to be free of considering superstition, ignored the matter. Nevertheless, as the months ticked by, on the first of December there were many within the kingdom who wished the baby would arrive.

But a week later, the baby had not come.

A week after that, still nothing.

It wasn't until precisely on the first day of winter that the king had his first child…an infant daughter.

For about one day there was fear. However, the fear faded rapidly when the king, beaming with joy and happiness, came forth and proclaimed the birth of his daughter. He ordered a great feast and celebration and invited all inside the castle to share in his joy. Ten days later, an even larger celebration was held when the baby was christened and named Elsa after his grandmother. And to all who looked on her, they saw only a perfect baby and nothing troubling. Everyone was satisfied all was well. In fact, they began to disdain the songs of the icemen even more at that, resulting in them becoming more like outcasts than before at their foolishness for getting the people worked up. They returned to their lives as before, now seeing the wisdom of the new queen in having a more practical stance. All vowed to not let themselves be deceived like that again or to go on supposition.

And they didn't do so even when the king did not have his second child for three years.

Nor when the rumors went about that they summoned no less than twenty different doctors to the castle in the dead of night, all for the purpose of ensuring that this second child would be born in the midst of summer…which she was.

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_To be continued..._

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the big parts of the plot of "Frozen" is that Elsa's powers are never explained. All the audience gets is a few vague hints here and there based on images in books and things Grand Pabby says. It's most likely they originally had an explanation when the plotline of the film still had Elsa as a cruel and heartless villain, but was discarded along with many other things when the plot changed to make her more sympathetic. Hence, I drew on a bit of Norwegian folklore to make up this "back story". Technically, this doesn't necessarily explain her powers either...just gives a potential reason behind them.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Two Princesses and Wh

_Chapter 1 – "The Two Princesses and What the Mountain Boy Saw"_

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Summer was a grand time for the icemen in Arendelle. Being Norway, ice harvesting always had been a viable trade, especially during the summer months. Yet through most of the country, especially in the south, there were issues of supply and availability, naturally. The world was growing more "modern", and as kingdoms and countries sprung up and grew, there was always a need for ice to keep food preserved or to make fancy desserts for nobles or the wealthy. And while Norway might have had a reputation for being cold and icy through much of the year, it had its summers like anyone else in which flowers would bloom, clouds of insects would swarm, and food left out in the heat would spoil. And it had its own share of nobles that desired frozen desserts and delicacies.

Arendelle, however, thanks to its blessings of warm breezes from the sea, had much higher demand than the rest of the country. Nine months out of the year temperatures could be expected to either remain above freezing or rise and fall below the mark. Hence, it required a more steady supply of ice. That, along with their remoteness and "standing apart", was the reason the icemen continued to exist in Arendelle even after so much had changed.

They did not ply their trade anywhere near the city or anywhere else people would dwell. It was far too warm there for any ice. Nor did they do so in any of the fjords that brought in salt water, for that took too long to freeze and smelled foul. For ice, they would go far, far north of the city, past the shadow of the North Mountain, which, summer or winter, cast an icy gaze over the entire country. On the mountains beyond there were freshwater lakes at high elevations that were frozen at all times, summer or winter. Cold and isolated from the lands of men, even the animals and birds shunned such a place. It was quiet and still at all times. Even the wind didn't seem to penetrate the valley in that icy, forgotten part of the world. It was there that the icemen did their work.

They arrived that day the same as all others. Being the summer, the sun would stay above the horizon for 18 hours of a day, with only six hours of night. Hence, although the sun was up when they began to make their way to the frozen lakes, it was, in reality, not even five in the morning. Out onto the ice they marched, each one dressed somewhat similar. All in dark colors that would absorb the sunlight. Thick, waterproof boots lined with animal hides, several layers on their legs and shirts, including sweaters and an outer pair of waterproof pants held up by suspenders, coats lined with fur, hats, scarves, and layers of mittens. Certainly not gloves…as that was a mistake only a novice would make and would suffer greatly for it the first day assuming they didn't lose a finger. Coming with them would be oxes, horses, and reindeer, each one pulling sledges. Some of the sledges contained the numerous tools, and a few even cranes of wood to help haul their loads. But mostly they were for carrying the "precious booty" from the frozen lake to their various towns to sell.

They did not come as one man or two or even a family, but together in a strange sort of "brotherhood". They gathered from several homes, streets, and even towns, but here they worked together. Many of them didn't know each other's names, but that didn't matter out here. There was almost an unspoken code among the icemen. It was impossible for one or two or even a family to harvest the ice. Furthermore, if all worked individually and spread out, soon none of the places would be suitable for ice harvesting. Rather, all worked together to get the harvest on one lake at a time, and then took home what each could and parted…not so much as comrades but as "co-workers" of a sort. That way, the lakes could refreeze for the next cycle. And as if to cement this "partnership", everyone sang the same songs and chants.

The strongest ones came out first with the pointed saws. Lining up in two parallel rows, they stood across from one another and, with strength that belayed that of most other working men, they drove the ends into the ice and began to slice through it rapidly. They worked in lock step and unison, singing to "keep the beat" as they slowly carved long, parallel lines out from each other. After that, they locked up again, turned ninety degrees, and cut once more…so that by the time all had cut the same lengths a row of ice blocks were ready to go.

After that, the rest of the men went to work. Getting out smaller saws, they began to cut the larger blocks into pieces that could be hoisted out. That too was hard work, and the kind that only strong men could pull off. However, it was also something that everyone could "get involved" in and went about doing.

It was at that time that the icemen noticed that another had joined their company.

This one stood far lower than the other icemen, and wasn't nearly as well built. Whereas the others had rough looks from time and hard work, this one didn't have quite as rough as an appearance…but rather a youthful and eager one. He was clad much as the others were, however. No one knew where he had gotten the clothes. The only indication was that they looked rather old and battered, more so than what most of the others wore. Perhaps they even bore signs of having been "trimmed down" a bit. Considering the boy, they were likely either some form of "hand-me-down"…or simply stolen. Yet no iceman would begrudge the young man that. Not in this line of work or weather.

They had seen this boy for some time now, although no one knew where he lived or came from. Only that for close to two years he had been watching them. Perhaps longer. The first time they noticed him, and, indeed, for the first year, he didn't have any sort of winter clothing. He would be wrapped in a blanket and watching them instead with his "companion" that marched onto the ice with him now. None of the men had ever seen him follow them home. He simply got up and left every night the same as the rest of them. Some said he lived in the mountains further south near Arendelle, where it was warmer. The only other alternative was that he would live in the more frozen mountains…but how a boy like that could survive alone (save for his "companion") in the mountains was anyone's guess.

He was definitely not like most other boys in terms of constitution. He didn't seem to shy away from cold or ice, and none of them had ever seen him shivering or sick. His skin seemed a bit rougher and "thicker" than others, and he even seemed more muscular than any other child his age would be, especially for about the age of six, which is what the men estimated he was. Most of the icemen had grown beards and mustaches and were dark-haired. Naturally…the boy was too young for a beard or mustache, but he had one of those "fair" faces that looked like it wouldn't grow well anyway, and his hair was like that of the more "stereotypical" Norsemen…a bright blond color with lovely blue eyes. Of course, handsomeness was something lost on the icemen. They never came here to admire children.

The most unworldly thing about him, however, was his "friend". A stocky, powerful reindeer foal followed him everywhere. At least…the icemen assumed it was a reindeer. It definitely had the coloration and fur of one, but the face was similar to that of a moose, and it appeared to be as strong and bulky as one. Even though it was young, it was strong enough to carry the boy around without tiring. Yet even more odd was the fact that when they first saw the boy, he would grunt and snort to the reindeer as if it could understand what he was "saying", and it, in turn, would grunt and snort back as if talking to him. It gave the reindeer an almost "supernatural" quality…enough to where some of the more superstitious icemen wondered if it was truly a reindeer at all or rather some fantastic or mythic creature, leading them to wonder if the child himself was something fantastic…

Although none of them knew him, he almost seemed to "know" them. He appeared fascinated with them every time he watched them. Them and their songs about the ice and the "magic" inside of it. For a year he merely watched. In that time, he never spoke a word. Occasionally, an iceman would call to him, but he'd only stand and stare back. The only noises he ever made were grunts and snorts to the reindeer. Over time, it made the men think he was either mute or never learned to speak. Based on the notion that some men had that the boy might really be some sort of "elf creature" in disguise, they named him "Kristoff". They would even call him that from time to time, and he seemed to like it, even smiling the first time. After that happened, they gradually began to hear the boy imitating them when they spoke or sang. Slowly, the grunts and snorts left and became words instead. Yet the oddest thing is that he would talk to the reindeer…and then twist his voice and say something back…almost as if he was "translating" the reindeer…

Over the last year, however, he began to imitate the men even more. He would mimic their moves on the ice as he chanted their songs. A bit later, and new items of clothing matching the icemen would appear on him. First their mittens, then their pants, then their inner shirts, then one of their smaller saws…gradually getting more and more…

Today, however, the boy was fully "decked out". He seemed to have gathered enough tools his size to do the work himself. He had even somehow arranged a small sledge just big enough to harness his reindeer to, complete with all the gear needed to hitch him up. All he lacked was one of their hats; his thick blond hair, messy and unkept, free to splay out. When he came out onto the ice, he did so with almost a look of pride, as if he was silently proclaiming that he was "one of them". He paused only long enough to produce an old carrot from his shirt. He proceeded to let his reindeer bite off half of it, ate the other half himself, and then joined them.

None of the icemen minded a new "addition". It was part of their unwritten code to work with strangers after all. The only rule was he could only keep what he took. The mountain boy _was_ rather smelly, however…like he had never taken a bath in his life or removed the clothes he had periodically been putting on for a year…not to mention the fact that he stank of reindeer, indicating he had probably been sleeping with the animal this whole time, but it wasn't enough to get him to go out. He took his position on one of the "water trenches" that was emerging from the cut blocks, lined up with the others, and tried to get the ice as it was pushed down.

The day wore on, and everyone worked. As the manageable blocks were freed, the icemen would go in with the tongs, pull out a catch, and bring it to their sledges. As more and more was cleared, some of the men would get out harpoons to pick up more irregular chunks occasionally, but mostly used it to push the blocks down the trench for others to pick up. It was here the mountain boy ran into some difficulty. Strong as he was, the blocks would weigh up to 35 kilograms. While the seasoned, strong "veterans" had no trouble ducking down, seizing the ice, and yanking it out with seeming effortlessness, the mountain boy could barely get his tongs around one at first as they were his size. When he did finally get around a piece, he didn't hold it right, and the ice slipped right out of his grasp. When he managed to hang on, he wasn't nearly strong enough to yank it out as the others had. More than once, the men thought the weight would drag the boy into the icy water and that someone would have to trouble themselves with fishing him out. However…at least in that regard, he was already like them in keeping his legs out and braced. Apparently, he had taken the precaution to wear ice cleats.

The day slowly wore on. As it did, bit by bit, ice blocks were loaded onto the sledges. Once the stacks grew too tall to put new ice on board by hand, the wooden cranes were used to load up the larger pieces or to chop them into more manageable ones. The sun seemed to perpetually be in the same region of sky as more and more bits were yanked out and put down. Yet at last, it went down. Night fully fell, and a sky of stars came out. The men went to the lamps at that. They were of the phosphorous kind, for it was too cold and wet for oil in that region. And since it wouldn't burn long, that was also the signal to be gone. As the lanterns went up, and the night sky began to produce a beautiful green and blue aurora "ribbon" tracing along it, the tools were packed and loaded and the ice tied down.

It was then that the icemen, finishing up their last song, noticed it.

The mountain boy was beaming with pride as he packed his own things…the back of his own sledge bearing a single block of ice. It wasn't even a full sized one. However…it was his. Not one of the men had given him a hand all day or so much as a word of encouragement. None of them had cut the block smaller for him intentionally. He had gotten that block the same way all of the others had, working just as they did. It was rightfully his and only his. Perhaps a small start…but a sign that this might indeed be a "calling" of sorts for him.

At any rate, as the aurora came out, the men got on board their own sledges and cracked the whips, and soon the icemen were on their way. Their deed done, their "fellowship" was broken and they all went their different ways to store or sell their wares.

As the last were leaving, the mountain boy finished hitching up his own reindeer and climbed on his back. The animal didn't seem to mind one bit, again testifying to his strength if he could pull both the sledge and carry the boy without difficulty. As the last note of the icemen's song faded, the boy finally gave one small call, the first three words he had said all day.

"Come on, Sven!"

The reindeer, obliging him, immediately and eagerly took off. The two made their way from the icy valley and began to head south…a destination already in mind…where ice was in the highest demand…

* * *

The third king to rule Arendelle relished in the fruits of the labor of his father and grandfather. The fishing economy was well established, and he introduced mass agriculture to the kingdom as well, making good use of the few areas of workable land and the warm climate. The ample timber helped the kingdom grow further, until the small city state was rich and prosperous. Using that wealth, he had commissioned a castle to be built that still stood. Blending the traditional styles of the Norwegian kings with more favored European architecture, it had been erected on a shallow spot of land extending out into the fjord. This was built up with a great deal of stonework and foundations until it was flat enough to erect upon, and then the castle constructed.

From a strategic standpoint, it was the perfect fortress. Thick stone walls with high, heavy gates and numerous watch towers had been erected all around it, each one with a high steepled roof for winter. Yet those were mostly to keep ships at bay. Indeed, a rather thick foundation wall extended from one corner of the castle out across the entrance to the fjord, and extended high into the mountains on both sides. In effect, the castle could protect the city from any attack and control all access to the city docks. Of course, if the waters ever grew cold enough where the fjord itself could freeze, one could simply walk across the ice. Yet such was impossible, as the fjord had not frozen once in recorded history, a span of easily 900 years in the modern day.

The only access points were two locales. There were posthern gates, but those only provided access to whatever boats the city controlled. The true access was only in the main gates to the dock area and a single bridge leading out into the main city. Both bridges were guarded by inner walls and gates that were easily opened from the inside but impossible for anything to penetrate normally. Even cannon fire, reportedly, would need multiple shots in the same location to breach it, although such had never been put to the test. The "water walls" would ensure that no such shots could be made.

It was a lovely castle, with the main part of it no more than three stories tall, but steepled high and beautifully to slough off frost in the winter. There were multiple tiers and eaves all over the rooftops in order to ensure everyone would have access during heavy snowfall, although the kingdom had never seen more than eight inches, incredibly enough, and that was on bad years. The castle was further framed by lovely green and rock mountains in the land beyond, with valleys leading out on three sides toward the forests, hills, and valleys. The castle was not cold or gray like so many other European ones, but was well lit up with the colors of Arendelle: green, purple, and black. Banners fluttered in the wind along the terraces up and down the bridge leading out and to the castle, and in spite of the thick and intimidating walls, the gates were never shut, allowing anyone to come and go as they pleased into the inner courtyard.

It overlooked an equally lovely city. The streets were made of fine cobblestone without so much as one out of place. The market was large and spacious, the homes were well made and freshly painted, and boats came in and out morning and night under the glow of the lighthouse at the tip of the fjord. At least half of it had been made into dock landings for boats both native to the country and abroad. The country produced and brought in a great deal of wealth from its natural bounty…enough to actually make the rumor go abroad that the land held reserves of gold or other precious metals. This year was no exception. And yet, in spite of the great wealth, the city state held its sovereignty secure. It was in such a fortunate part of Norway that it held almost a "mythos" about it…one that kept any nation from trying to exploit it in open warfare. The current king and queen ruled peacefully with no threats to their reign save for one "inconvenience", in that there were only female heirs and not males. As such, unless they were married, they could not inherit the throne until the age of 21, as opposed to 16 for a male heir, but that was a minor "trifle" at best. The current ruler, Harald IV, and his wife, Kamilla, had little to fear in terms of economic woe or military attack.

In spite of that, on this evening they slept soundly…and that was a rarity. In truth they had spent many nights awake and worrying…almost since the day their first born came into the world.

At the moment, in one of the larger rooms of the castle, in a lovely chamber filled with elegant toys, furnishings, and a pair of lovely beds with fine curtains, yet both hand-made and decorated for younger individuals, the moon shone brightly. It was full this night, and seemed to hang larger and lower than it did normally during the summer. Although the room was darkened, the sky was so brilliant that one could make out almost every detail within the chamber. And if anyone was inside…they'd notice movement underneath the bed to the right of the doorway.

With all the actions of a child knowing they were being "naughty" and stubbornly persisting anyway, a girl slowly wormed her way out from under her covers and toppled to the floor. Her bed was still rather big for her, after all, being only five years of age. Once out, creeping and crawling, she made her way into the moonlight over the carpet and began to move toward the opposite bed. The figure was a beautiful red-haired girl, like her father's, who had a look of "adventure" and "daring" on her face as she slowly and silently made her way. She already seemed to be someone who wasn't afraid to get into trouble and into places she shouldn't have been.

This was the second born of Harald and Kamilla: Anna. She was everything any royal family would have wanted in a princess, and a few things that any parent that wished for a quiet, sensible child did not. Beautiful, happy, and eternally full of energy and restlessness, Anna seemed to have a warmth and "fire" about her that was noticeable to any of the nobles she met. She was very much her "daddy's little princess", looking cute in the dresses made for her, attracting calls of "awe" and "how adorable" from any visiting guests, and properly holding tea parties and playing with dolls whenever by herself, although she wasn't above sneaking as many chocolates as she could get her sticky fingers on or running off to play in the dirt when no one was watching. However, these traits were chalked up merely to childish innocence. Everyone who came to visit spoke highly of her, how she would one day grow into a fine and lovely young woman and a wonderful princess, and many of the nobles who had sons of their own already were thinking of one day how their children might woo and court her when she came to be of marrying age. She was sociable and glowing, if not a bit of a chatterbox, and she was a joy when anyone was ever around.

However, while she would freely play with any other children who came, she always held one "playmate" in higher esteem than all the others…

At length, Anna made her way over to the opposite bed. It was higher than hers, and so she had a harder time getting on it. She almost had to hop up and down just to get her arms above enough to grab on. Yet as she tried to climb up, each hop brought her into view of an older, eight-year-old girl lying asleep under the covers, her own hair looking silvery-white in the moonlight.

The first born of Harald and Kamilla: Elsa.

From the day she left her mother's womb, it was obvious that something was different about Elsa. She was paler than both her mother and father, enough to where many thought she was ill although she was always perfectly healthy. Her hair was the whitest blond anyone had ever seen, almost seeming to be pure white in the right lighting. This color had turned a few heads when it came in. After all…neither Harald nor Kamilla had blond hair, and neither did any of their ancestors known in history. Neither were they fair complexioned. Her eyes were the most vivid blue...that they seemed to almost have a power in them in spite of being in the head of an otherwise "normal" girl. It was obvious that she would grow to be a lovely young woman as well…although, in her case, she would have a look of "maturity" about her.

Elsa wasn't as boisterous or as exuberant as Anna. Although she enjoyed having fun, she wouldn't make trouble for the servants or for her parents…at least, not traditionally. She was more soft-spoken and responsible, as many first-born children are. However, she was also quite intelligent. She had learned to read at a very young age and dove into many books. In spite of Harald's frequent statements that his own affairs were too sophisticated for her at her age, she would often listen in on his decrees and decisions, as well as his advisors. She seemed to take things to heart, and would actually ask the advisors privately to explain things she did not understand. And once she learned of them, in spite of being eight years old, she mastered such things quickly. She could already best her mother in chess, and had won a few victories against her father too.

Had Elsa been born a male, Harald would have been extremely pleased with her. Already, she was showing herself to be incredibly competent and intelligent…someone with whom the kingdom would be in excellent hands. However…she was a girl, and it unsettled Harald more than anything…among other matters. When noble sons her age came over, she would often grow unhappy with them when she saw how dim-witted and "silly" they were compared to her. She did not take lessons in "propriety" that well. When a boy would open a door for her, she would run ahead to open the next one for him, confusing the boy and embarrassing her father. When one boy laid a coat over a mud puddle for her, she told him he was silly for getting his coat dirty.

The last straw, however, had been when Elsa had sat to one side sipping her tea while Harald had been conducting a trade negotiation with a duke in the commonwealth. The duke had been trying to get Harald to accept a new trading arrangement that would allow his city to place much higher taxes on incoming goods into Arendelle for six months of the year. To make the deal equitable, he offered to allow Arendelle to do the same to goods being sent to them for the other six months. During this negotiation, Elsa had frequently let out small giggles. Eventually, it annoyed the duke, and Harald was forced to rise and move over to her to ask what was so amusing.

"Daddy," She had answered. "The duke is being silly. His country will be frozen over during those six months and none of our ships would be able to land there."

As intelligent as this had been for a six year old to point out…which, in turn, made the duke rather angry to hear coming from a child, Harald had been embarrassed by the entire thing. To have a young prince say such a thing might have been astute…but to hear it come from a princess sipping tea was more of an insult. It wasn't "becoming" of a girl to call out things such as this. Not only that…but the color had visibly faded from Harald's face momentarily when Elsa had said the word "frozen"…

And so, Elsa had to devote more time to learning propriety. She was to speak only when addressed or only when saying "sir" or "master". She was to hold her head high, her dress straight, to allow young boys to help her into chairs and open doors for her, and to only comment on things such as the weather or activities like riding and painting. Elsa found the whole affair rather boring, but she was an obedient child and did as she was told.

Elsa was far from a "killjoy", however. She "cut loose" frequently with her sister Anna. Unlike with the other boys, Elsa had been overjoyed to see Anna since the day she was born, and the two were practically inseparable. One might assume such was a moot point as they were the only two girls in the castle, but the fact was they never fought, never argued, and did everything together. In truth, Anna's more "adventurous" nature probably made Elsa herself a bit more unruly than she would have been otherwise. Elsa's "sensibility" certainly didn't seem to rub off on Anna, after all. Yet the two were so close it seemed almost a sin to do anything to part them from each other. And seeing Elsa act "more her age" around Anna was a fair tradeoff in the eyes of the king and the queen. And the older sister was so much more mature and responsible that the servants thought nothing of letting them run around together, entrusting Anna to Elsa's care.

In fact, the king had been telling the servants more and more over the past few months to not be present whenever Anna and Elsa were playing…specifically Elsa. Especially when the king looked like he had been up and fretful after a chain of sleepless nights… It confused the servants at times. After all, Elsa was quite precocial, but she wasn't a troublemaker. Why should he be so stressed and concerned about her all the time?

At any rate, Anna finally succeeded in getting a handhold on the mattress, and rapidly began to pull herself up.

"Elsa!" She called out in her small, five-year-old voice, quite energetic.

No response from the older girl, who continued to sleep.

"Elsa!" Anna said even louder.

Elsa let out a moan and shifted just slightly underneath the covers.

"Elsa!" Anna said as she finally pulled herself up onto the bed. At once, without any care for what the effect of jumping on another person might be, she practically leapt onto Elsa and gave her a shake. "Elsa! Elsa! Wake up!"

The older girl groaned again, and turned a bit more, before finally answering in a sleepy voice.

"Anna…it's late… Go back to sleep…"

The younger girl would have none of that. Immediately, forming the look of a small "drama queen", she turned around and practically threw herself on top of her older sister with her arms splayed out.

"I _caaan't_ sleep…" She remarked in an exaggerated voice. "The _sky's_ awake…so _I'm_ awake…" She moaned. "And that means we _have_ to play."

Elsa, in spite of her attempt to stay asleep, just barely managed to keep from busting into a smile at this. However, she was not only an obedient daughter who had promised that evening to her mom and dad that she would stay in bed all night and not wake up and cause a ruckus, but was genuinely tired. And so, she simply turned in her bed in such a way that Anna slid right off of her, to the younger girl's surprise.

"Well, play by yourself…" She simply muttered.

Anna, on her part, slid all the way down and off the mattress, a bit to her surprise, and landed with a light "thump" on the carpet on her rear end. However, any discomfort that might have been caused by this was immediately forgotten as she formed a sulking frown, upset that her favorite playmate was being a "stick in the mud". She stewed over this failure to elicit a desired response for a moment or two…before she perked up a bit. An idea came to mind.

There was a certain "game" that Elsa was quite fond of playing, that Anna had only learned of several months ago, but had immediately become her favorite as well. When their parents had found out, they had quite sternly, almost crossly, warned them both not to "play the game" anymore. Yet Anna was far too young and adventurous to obey such a boring rule…and to not tempt her older sister to do the same.

With renewed vigor, she again jumped and grabbed the edge of the mattress, and then pulled herself up on the bed again. Soon, she moved over her older sister once more, and this time she reached out with one of her hands and pried open one of Elsa's eyelids. The fact that the beautiful blue eye on the other side immediately focused on Anna was testament that she wasn't really asleep herself.

At this, Anna leaned in close with a mischievous smile.

"Do you wanna build a _snoooow-man?_" She asked, making extra emphasis on the last word.

Elsa looked back only a moment…before the smile spread on her face, and her other eye opened. She could almost feel her fingertips already tingling in excitement at the thought…despite the fact it was a warm summer night.

* * *

Three minutes later, Anna was practically bouncing down the stairs of the second floor, one hand firmly attached to Elsa and nearly dragging her down in spite of being smaller. Elsa, on her part, was smiling, but old enough to be wary. Alerting her parents would be bad…but it would be even worse if the servants found out, or so her father and mother had told her. She frequently had to hush Anna to keep her laughter and giggling from alerting anyone. Although the castle was well insulated, it was also large and voices echoed. She wouldn't risk anyone finding out.

The main halls of the castle were partially lit at all hours, with oil lamps having a few of their namesakes lit to keep a warm, inviting glow at all times, if not a dim one. Yet the two girls didn't stop in the hallways. They went all the way to the first floor, and then turned a corner before heading for a large set of double doors. They were so big and heavy that it took both Anna and Elsa pushing to open them up, but they were well-oiled enough to where they swung without sound.

When the door opened, a large and spacious empty room was revealed. It was only ever decorated for parties, and neither girl was old enough to attend any. Right now, it was mostly just a beautifully tiled marble floor with a high ceiling, in which every sound the girls made was loud and resounding. As soon as Anna was in, before the door was even shut, she immediately began to bounce around and laugh even louder, while Elsa quickly turned, seized the handle, and with all of her strength managed to pull the door closed. This was the only "private", large space in the house. Their room wouldn't do for this, but so long as they weren't too loud, no servant or guard would hear them. Afterward Elsa began to make her way to the middle of the room.

Anna was practically bouncing off the walls. "Do it, Elsa! Do it!"

"Hang on just a second!" She answered as she ran into the middle.

The younger sister was boundless in energy, quickly running up to her and nearly grabbing her bare hands as if to make it go faster. "Do it! Do the magic!" She called again.

"Alright, alright!" Elsa answered as she reached the middle, coming to a stop. "Now stand back a bit."

Anna barely backed away at all, and kept her head leaning down, watching Elsa's hands with more joy than a child at Christmas. She continued to nearly hop up and down. As for Elsa, she grinned again, looked up to Anna to make sure she was "watching close", and then rubbed her fingers against her palms briefly, as if "warming something up". After that, she began to turn her hands out to point to each other, and then made a circular motion around them.

On doing so, a light emerged from the midst of Elsa's hands. It was an icy blue shade. As Elsa continued to make the gesture, it grew brighter yet…and distinctive. It went from being a light to a mist. Elsa continued to turn, and it condensed further than that, beginning to make a sound on the air like ice crystals against one another. The space around Elsa's hands grew cold enough for Anna to feel, and as Elsa continued to gesture, the mist turned into distinct snowflakes. What more, they moved about her hands, following her movements. It wasn't as if the motion she made was "dragging" them…but rather like the ice was following her lead. Soon, she broke her hands apart, and made other gestures to act like she was "unfolding".

When that happened, the ice crystals spun around and joined together, and, with a light "fwoomp" sound…formed a perfect snowflake the size of a saucer in her hands. Anna nearly clapped with delight. Elsa grinned back in response for a moment, before, with just a touch of "flair", she threw her hand up to the ceiling.

The snowflake never made contact with her, but obeyed her as it went upward, just like she had thrown it. It shot straight into the air, leaving icy dust behind it as it went to the sky, letting its blue glow shine through the room. It traced it all the way to the top of the room, until it hit the ceiling. At that point, it made a louder "fwoomp" sound…and exploded. At once, the air was filled with hundreds…thousands of small glowing specks of ice. They held for only a moment…and then slowly began to descend. As they did, the glow died…leaving only a cold breeze blowing through the chamber and perfect snowflakes falling down. In moments, the entire room was filled with a light snowfall.

The air was cold, but not too far below freezing, and although the girls were only in nightclothes, they were also accustomed to cool weather due to their nationality. The only reaction that came from this as Elsa leaned up was for Anna to immediately cheer and run around, dancing in the snowfall around her.

"Yay, yay!" She cried. "This is amazing!" She cheered.

Elsa couldn't help but nearly blush as she smiled. This was what she loved the most about Anna. Unlike her father and mother, Anna _never_ looked upset or scared when she did this. Rather, she loved it completely. To her, Elsa's "trick" was the best thing about her. Elsa was old enough to know, by now, that she was the only one who had this interesting ability. It was something that made her unique. Yet the way mom and dad talked to her and treated it…they made it look like something she should have been ashamed of. Like it was bad in a way. And whenever she showed how she could do a new trick with it, they only looked more nervous. But Anna always loved it, which made Elsa feel more like "herself" around her.

"Well, don't dance around all night!" Elsa called back. "Get the things! It's going to take a couple minutes to get deep enough!"

* * *

It took about ten minutes for the gentle snowfall to accumulate enough on the floor of the chamber for Elsa and Anna to get to work rolling it to make a snowman. Amazingly enough, the snow stayed perfectly cold and "powdery" before then, but when they began to put it together, it clumped together as if it was wet. It didn't take much longer than that to roll out enough pieces to put together. Once they had three stacked together, with a large base, a thin middle, and then a large head, Elsa added the sticks for arms, pieces of coal for "buttons" and eyes, and additional twigs to produce three "strands of hair" from the top of the head. She proceeded from there to mold the face until the snowman had a large, goofy smile with a single snow "tooth" protruding from what would be the upper lip, and then added a carrot for a long, pointed nose.

The deed done, Elsa swiveled the snowman around to the waiting Anna, who sat plainly on a snowpile waiting for the finishing work. Once the snowman faced her, Elsa moved behind him, took the arms, and manipulated them to move around. She soon spoke in a somewhat silly, deeper voice, clearly providing "words" for the snowman.

"Hi! I'm Olaf!" She made him say. "And I like warm hugs!"

Anna squealed with delight, immediately leaping up, running over to him, and wrapping her arms around the snowman, not caring at all for the cold. "I love you, Olaf!" She proclaimed cheerfully.

Elsa smiled in response, and decided on how to have more fun with their "new playmate". As Anna gave him his first "warm hug", she pulled back her nightgown a bit to expose more of one leg, and then picked it up and stepped down on a bare part of the floor. Immediately, a blue light rippled through the marble, and, for a brief moment, a glowing snowflake formed underneath her foot. It faded rapidly, replaced by a sound of freezing and cracking as a thin layer of ice emanated from the foot and soon coated the floor, turning the smooth marble into a perfect ice rink.

Anna was too young to skate and, besides, they didn't have their skates with them. But that didn't stop Elsa. She had learned a new "trick" not too long ago. Letting Anna hold onto "Olaf" and push him ahead, Elsa stood with her back to her, and aimed her hands downward. With just a bit of concentration, light gathered around her palms again, before streams of icy mist and flakes radiated from them in a straight line. As a result, force was generated that allowed her to propel backward. The ice on which she, Anna, and Olaf were perched stayed solid, and soon moved around like a sled. With expert care and skill, Elsa let the icy frost push them along all over the sheet of ice on the floor, all while Anna continued to hoot and holler for joy.

Such it went for the forty minutes or so. Anna played in the ballroom-turned-winter-wonderland while Elsa unveiled a seemingly unlimited repertoire of ice magic. They romped and jumped through snowdrifts, made snow angels, danced through fresh powder, skated, and had a wonderful time. Anna loved her sister's power more than anything in the world, allowing her to have a winter outing or "snow day" whenever she wanted. But the truth was Elsa loved it too, if for no other reason than she was free to let this side of herself "show" around Anna. Around all of the other nobles, she never had a chance. Her father warned her sternly not to, especially after the day one repulsive one had made a face at her, and she answered by giving him a snowball to the back of the head once he looked away. She always had to hide that power like everything else… Yet around Anna, she never had any reason to hold back…and Anna was never scared at all of it.

At length, Anna, overjoyed and more riled up than ever, went to the top of the largest snowpile in the chamber. It had packed down enough to where she could stand a bit off the ground. Once there, she grinned for a moment, before launching herself off of it.

"Catch me!" She called.

Elsa giggled in response, and made a gentle "wave" motion with both of her hands. In response, an icy stream shot forth from her hands for the base where Anna was landing, and soon made a larger snowpile for her to land on gently. Elsa was impressed with herself at that. Early on, she could only make light snows. But now, in an instant, she could make a whole pile if she wanted. At any rate, Anna had a lot of fun and wanted more, and quickly ran and jumped off of this one as well.

"Catch me!"

"I've got you!" Elsa answered as she quickly generated another slightly larger pile, intercepting Anna again.

Now it was a "game", however, and Anna rebounded even faster and quickly jumped again. Once more, however, Elsa moved out and sent another snowpile underneath her, again a bit larger. Anna rebounded even faster, and quickly launched off again. This time, Elsa had scarcely had a chance to pull her arms back when she had to throw them forward again…making the pile a bit larger than she intended.

As a result, Anna almost "skipped" off of this one and instantly jumped again. "Catch me again!"

Elsa's smile faded a bit this time as she rapidly, almost erratically, formed another. "Hey, wait a second!"

Anna merely jumped off of this one for another. "Again!"

Elsa barely had time to get the last one off before moving to the next this time. Her smile was gone by now. "Hey, slow down!" She called back.

However, Anna was too engrossed, and, excitable as she was, wouldn't stop at a time like this. She only added more speed and kept jumping, forcing Elsa to move faster and faster, and slowly start to "fall behind"… "Catch me! Catch me!"

"Anna, wait!" Elsa said, her voice beginning to strain as she continued to try and shoot out snowpiles as fast as she could. By now, she didn't have much focus in them at all. They were getting sloppy…and taller. She meant to make them go lower…but at this point they were a good eight feet in the air and getting taller. If Anna fell at this point. "You're going too fast!"

The five-year-old wouldn't listen, and kept moving. She was jumping so fast now that Elsa had to start moving as well, no longer able to just turn and follow her. It was likely she wasn't even hearing her older sister over the sound of her own laughter. And as she went higher, she only grew more and more excited. By now, Elsa was getting very nervous…

Then, finally, it happened.

As Elsa, struggling to keep up, turned again…she stepped the wrong way on a patch of snow, and it slid right beneath her. Before she could stop herself, she tumbled over and fell on her chest. She managed to keep herself from landing on her face…but her power was interrupted. As for Anna, oblivious to all of it, she held on tight on the latest snowpile…now a good ten feet off the ground…and leapt off of it, bringing her legs in for what would be a "big finale".

"Here I go!" She cheered.

Elsa, however, was anything but happy…for as Anna descended, she saw there was little beneath her except a thin layer of one inch snow…and then the marble ground. Her face filled with fear.

"Anna!"

In one desperation move to keep her younger sister from hurting herself, she struggled to use her power one more time. But she wasn't concentrating this time or focusing or aiming right. She merely threw out a hand and discharged an icy stream. It wasn't aimed anywhere near the ground where Anna should have landed. It was aimed higher.

And right as Anna came down for her "perfect landing"…the icy stream shot through the air and made contact directly with her head.

It was as if any other object had been thrown at Anna's head, for it immediately recoiled from the impact. In a sense…it might have been a good thing, as the force ripped her body sideways and made her collide with the ground at an angle on her arm, making the landing "gentle". However…Anna's smile faded almost immediately as soon as contact was made, turning instead to a look of pain for a moment…before going blank. Her body landed against the ground a moment later, already limp on impact, and she slid along the icy floor for a moment before coming to a halt.

The fun, the playing, and the snowman were instantly forgotten as Elsa's look turned to horror. "Anna!" She cried. In an instant, she scrambled off of the ice and onto all fours, and immediately onto two legs. She was at Anna's side in a flash…who had gone completely still. Her face no longer showed severe discomfort or pain…but it was not the look of someone happy or at ease. She was completely still.

As Elsa went down to her side and pulled her head onto her lap, putting her arms around Anna, she was completely unresponsive. She didn't react in the slightest. Her body was like a stone. Elsa's eyes began to fill with fear, yet she held to the childish hope that "it wasn't as bad as it looked". Trying to keep her voice from choking with tears, she began to call out to her.

"You're ok, Anna… I've got you…"

Yet even as she tried to say these words of encouragement, she saw something that made her gasp.

The "crackling" sound of ice was going through the air again…only it wasn't from Elsa or anything else this time. It was coming from Anna. Before her eyes, starting at the scalp, the older sister watched in horror as a lock of Anna's hair, near the point of impact, went from beautiful, fiery red to pale, snowy white.

Anna didn't react at all to her words.

Now fear definitely began to settle in. Elsa clutched Anna tighter, and as she did she began to sob more loudly. Thoughts of punishment or trouble left her. Instead, freely, she held her head to the sky as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Mom! Dad! Help!"

Elsa's cries were loud enough to go outside the ballroom and resound through the castle. Yet that wasn't the only effect that occurred…

The previously perfect and beautiful ice on the floor grew severely colder, accumulating more haphazard and cruel-looking frost on it, emanating from Elsa. As she grew more distraught and fearful, it only spread, growing colder and more fierce. As it rippled over the snow, the drifts collapsed around it, as if shaken by an icy force. The snowman they had lovingly made together crumpled into powder, growing too cold to stay entire. Yet when the ice and frost reached the sides of the room…it only went on from there. Lines of frost climbed up the columns and walls of the chamber. The biting cold coated the doors and supports, encrusting them with bitter rime and turning the previously pleasant snowfall into an icy, frozen patch of darkness. And still Elsa held Anna and continued to cry for help.

It took a few minutes before any came. It wasn't the servants. As soon as the parents had been alerted, they had immediately ordered all servants away and to stand by for orders. None of them were to come unless the king or queen commanded them. After that happened, Harald and Kamilla, who had dressed faster than one would think possible, went to the grand ballroom. They would have been in sooner…only to find that the doors were frozen shut. They both had to work together with a mighty push, slowly breaking up the ice, before the doors finally gave.

The king and queen were soon framed in the doorway…and forced to pause. They cast a look about the ballroom, finding the entire place coated in a thin layer of frost. The air inside was biting and cold as well, enough to make both of them shudder. However, looking around only a moment, the king made a grim assessment.

"It's getting worse…" He stated darkly.

After that, he turned his head…and soon saw his first born, cheeks stained with tears, looking to him as she fiercely held his second. Immediately, both he and Kamilla ran up to them both. Elsa tried to say something…tried to explain what was going on. But she was too scared…too sad. All that came out was choked blubbering and half words.

Harald's own words for her were not terribly comforting. His own look was fearful on seeing Anna…but also stern.

"Elsa…this is getting out of hand…"

Unfortunately for him, he assumed this had been some sort of conventional "accident" like the times before. Perhaps Anna had slipped on a patch of ice and hurt herself…or one of Elsa's sharper snowflakes had accidentally cut her. In either case, Harald had not been happy. He had told Elsa specifically not to flaunt her power around Anna, for he knew the younger daughter would only encourage her to use more of it…and he was desperately afraid of what the result would be. Ever since he learned of his daughter's "special ability" he had been nervous about it…but especially nervous about the fact that Elsa seemed to do it often without thinking and spontaneously. In other words…without control. He had hoped as she got older it would get better…

The opposite occurred.

Piles of snow in the playroom. Bathrooms filled with a snowstorm. Wash basins freezing and cracking the bowl. All of them done without Elsa's desire. Until now, however, no one had directly been hurt by the power. For that reason, Harald had entertained the hope that perhaps it wasn't as bad as he thought. Perhaps it would create some unusual situations…but it wouldn't be anything dangerous. Yet as her powers went from snow to ice as she got older, and without her knowledge, Harald began to grow afraid of this day…the day Elsa's power would actually hurt someone else unintentionally…and what it would mean for her…

As he grew closer to Anna…as he saw how still she was…and as she saw the white strand of hair she now had…his sternness began to leave him. It was replaced by fear…the worst fear that he had if Anna continued to encourage Elsa to use her power behind his back…

Kamilla soon confirmed it. She ran faster and got to Elsa and Anna first, and quickly bent down next to them. Elsa, between cries, half-heartedly tried to hand Anna over and choke an explanation.

"We…we were…p-p-playing…" She tried to say. "And…and…"

By now, her mother had touched Anna…and immediately gasped.

"Oh God…Harald…she's as cold as ice…"

The remaining explanation dried up in Elsa's mouth. Part of her ability was that she never felt cold. She could have stood for hours in fresh snow in bare feet and been no worse for wear. So naturally…she had no idea it was that bad. Fresh fear flooded her as Harald reached over and touched her. The look on his face of shock and fear was all Elsa needed to see to send more tears.

A moment later, he looked to her. "What happened?" He half-demanded.

Trying not to cry, Elsa swallowed her tears back and managed to speak mostly clearly. "She…she was falling…and…and I tried to stop…but…I…I hit her with…with my…my…" She didn't want to finish. Instead, she choked back a sob and asked the next question. "An…Anna's going to be alright…isn't she?"

Kamilla didn't answer. She looked fearfully to Harald in response. Elsa knew what that meant, being mature enough to tell. She knew there was only one "hope" now, and she turned to her father, desperately looking for it. For a brief instant, he had fear on his own expression…the kind of look a father with a dying child that he was helpless to do anything about might have…that same kind of despair.

However, it faded in the next moment…replaced by a more "decisive" look.

"…I know what we have to do." He said as he began to rise.

* * *

Kristoff, for that was the name he took for himself when the icemen named him, was still feeling mighty proud of himself as Arendelle's castle began to poke through gaps in the forest canopy. Sure, it was only a single block of ice, and not much of one…but it was his. He had gotten it himself. That meant he had a "job" now…a way to provide for himself. He was an "iceman" himself…or, rather, he was an iceman along with Sven. Ice_men_. He had found his calling. To tell the truth…the reason he had watched those men for so long, the reason he dressed like them and had gone out today, was because he loved it. He loved hearing the songs about the "magic" in ice and how they prided themselves on "mastering" it. He wanted some of that magic for himself.

It may have only been one small block today…but tomorrow it might be two. And the day after that, three. Everyone had to start somewhere. And now that he and Sven had started, they were going to make a place for themselves in the world. They were "masters of the ice magic", and that filled him with a bit of pride. In spite of having been out on the frozen lake all day in frigid circumstances, and being sore all over from the little work he had done, Kristoff was eager to get back out there soon and get "better" at his new trade.

Sven was plenty happy too. The snow had long since given out, and now the sledge was being dragged on the thick grass of the path leading through the forests of Arendelle. He had slowed quite a bit as a result, but he was still eagerly pulling it. Kristoff could guess why. The sooner they got the block to the city, the sooner they could sell it…and the sooner they could get "snacks". It filled Kristoff with more joy as the city gradually became more clear through the trees…that he would soon be buying fresh carrots instead of just picking whatever ones were thrown out. It made him feel "like a man"…or, at the bare minimum, fully "independent"… He just hoped there was someone still awake to buy it… He wasn't sure how long it would be before the block really started to melt…

Yet as he was thinking this…something caught his ear. Over the sounds of Sven's grunting and the slow sliding of the sledge blades over the grassy ground…there was another sound. Hoofbeats…ones from a horse, no less. They were ahead of him…and they were getting closer.

At once, Kristoff and Sven alike were both on alert. He may have admired the icemen…but it was their trade he admired more than anything as well as their skill. Not men in particular. Most people that Kristoff had ever met personally weren't terribly friendly, driving him off as a common beggar, sometimes with blows, or trying to steal what few meager possessions he had managed to scrape together. And this late at night…both of them were convinced the only people who would be riding horses would be up to no good.

Immediately, Sven turned the sledge to one side, causing both himself and Kristoff to run into the larger rushes and grass off of the beaten trail. It wasn't the best bit of hiding in the world, but the end result was to conceal them better. Unfortunately, only "better". The moon was so bright at the moment that even in the shadows of the forest, everything seemed fully illuminated. But at least it made him less conspicuous. Once there, moving forward was harder than ever, but Sven pulled hard none the less and dragged the sledge and the ice further. As for Kristoff, he looked out to the roadway, expecting to see a highwayman at worst, or a messenger at best.

Much to his surprise, he saw something different. A pair of splendid horses raced by…very well groomed and seeming to not be the kind that were co-opted for work, but instead purely for speed. And they seemed to be quite good at that as they ran by. Kristoff barely had a chance to see that they were dressed in elegant, clean colors and well groomed. Riding them appeared to be a pair of nobles…which was even more confusing. What would nobles be doing out riding in the middle of the night, dressed like that? Without any guards or retinue?

Kristoff didn't ponder that long. In fact, in a few moments, he didn't care about it at all. For as the horses raced by, not paying any attention to him and likely not noticing him at all, he saw something else that soon caught his attention.

There was a trail of ice going behind one of the horses.

For a moment, the boy stared blankly. In that time, the two horses ran on, and soon turned a corner and vanished from view. Their hoofbeats died as well. However, Kristoff continued to stare at the ground. Sure enough…there was a trail of ice left in the wake of one of the horses. It took the form of thick frost, lining the grass so much that each blade was incased in a small sheath of ice, and the end result was a "carpet of white" leading onward in the direction the horses had gone. Fascinated, Kristoff actually dismounted Sven and landed on the ground. The reindeer seemed as curious as him when he did so, but, for once, he ignored him as he walked up to the trail. He wanted to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. On reaching it, he bent down and gave it a closer look.

Sure enough, it was the real deal. A trail of white ice. He actually reached over and touched one of the blades. It was heavy and sagging from the ice wrapping it. He grasped it in his mitten and gave a squeeze, and it easily snapped in it.

As Sven came forward, still pulling the sledge, he paused to lean over and sniff it momentarily. As for Kristoff, he looked the way the horses had run. He had no idea who those riders were or where they were going…but right now, he didn't care. He had always believed in the "magic of ice"…and now he realized he had just seen it for himself. Real "ice magic". There was no other explanation for what he had just witnessed. That had not been common in the least. And it was so warm out that by tomorrow all of it would be gone. Kristoff and Sven were likely the only ones who had seen that.

With that in mind, the mountain boy thought for a moment. He looked to his sledge and the block of ice there, and again to the trail. Already, the part nearest him was beginning to melt and break off of the blades of grass. It wouldn't be long before it was nothing but water. He made a decision.

Much as he loved his "first victory" today…this might be the only chance he ever got to find the source of some real magic ice. It was likely no one else had ever seen this or ever would see it again. And he couldn't let an opportunity like that pass him by. With that in mind, he went over to Sven and quickly began to go about unhitching him. The young reindeer would never be able to catch up with the riders unless he wasn't tethered. It would mean leaving his sledge and precious cargo behind…but he felt it was worth it in this case.

Less than a minute later, he was back on Sven's back and spurring him on as the reindeer followed the icy trail.

* * *

Harald had worked fast. It was true that he had disregarded the myth when he had married Kamilla. But when he found Elsa's first bassinette lined with frost the day after she was born, his "faith" had been rekindled and he had made sure the older tomes that his ancestors had written and passed down remained in the royal library. He went there first and, after searching furiously for a few moments, pulled out the proper book. It was written in the older, non-standard characters, but he had taught himself to read them six years ago. In no time at all, he flipped to the page containing an old picture of his ancestor lying prone a slab while an odd creature stood over him, seeming to bring forth a cloud of white from him, and read the text. It was there he learned of where they were supposed to still reside…over in the wastes fifteen miles from Arendelle. He was fortunate that it was summer. In the winter, the "straight" path was inaccessible, and one would have to take a twenty-five mile path over the hills. As it was, he put the horse in full gallop.

Kamilla rode nearby, and he was grateful that she was such an accomplished rider. She had Anna with her. She had wrapped her in a blanket and was holding her close…but it didn't alleviate the deathly chill coming from her. Her face seemed locked in that state of discomfort, and she didn't stir. She barely even breathed… Worst of all was that strand of white hair. He couldn't help but keep thinking about it…and praying that this part of the legend was still true.

Elsa rode with him. She was doing her best not to cry, but her distraught demeanor was clear. She kept anxiously looking back to Anna and sniffling. And as she remained upset…Harald saw the result. They left a pathway of ice behind them. At the moment, the king was focused on Anna, but even if he wasn't he wouldn't talk harshly to Elsa over this. As upset as he was for her using her power again, upsetting her would only make things worse. Whenever she got emotional like this, she couldn't stop it at all. She'd spontaneously freeze water glasses or coat her pillow with snow. And right now, he didn't need any more inconvenience.

Although his mind was primarily on the welfare of his youngest, this latest incident only made him more worried. He had hoped that Elsa would either "grow out" of this somehow or at least would gain a better measure of control. Yet it only seemed to grow stronger and wilder with time…and now she had struck Anna with it. Even if everything turned out alright…how long would it be before this happened again? What if it was Anna again? Or Kamilla? Or himself? Or even if it wasn't…even if it was some hapless servant…what then? What would happen if the people of the kingdom found out the myth that they had dispelled was true? What would they do to Elsa? She already had the rumor of being an unusual child…and she looked nothing like her parents… What if they branded her as a witch? Or a demon?

He tried not to obsess too much over that for now…at least not until Anna was safe.

After fifteen miles of hard riding, the trees slowly thinned out, growing smaller and more "scraggly", until they faded all together. The rocks grew rougher and higher on either side of the royal family as they rode on. The grass and other vegetation vanished. All that was left was bare stone, lichens, and moss along with gray ground. Riding on further, they entered the wastes, signified by steam vents blasting out here and there puffs of smoke. It grew considerably warmer as a result, but Harald was thankful for it, considering how cold Anna was at the moment.

A bit further on, and the trees cleared completely over one area in particular…a large basin. It was flat in the center and arranged in rough concentric circles of ascending stone. It looked natural enough, but one would think it would make for a perfectly fine amphitheater based on the shape. Aside from that, the area around was littered with small boulders, as much of the valley had been. Roughly ovoid gray stones covered with moss.

As the horses neared this area, they began to slow of their own accord. They snorted a bit more and started to look more tense, as if something was spooking them. However, this was close enough for Harald. He pulled his horse to a halt, and Kamilla soon did the same. He first helped Elsa down and then himself, before moving over to assist his wife with Anna. Once down, however, he looked to the middle of the amphitheater.

People never came to this part of the land. It was too quiet, too rocky, and wrought with myth and superstition…for a good reason. However, Harald was hoping that same superstition would hold true now… This was the longest shot he could make, after all…

Swallowing his own fear, he began to approach the center, gesturing Elsa on and leading Kamilla with Anna. The horses obediently waited at a distance, although they looked around a bit nervous. Frankly, at this point, he didn't care if they ran off and he would have to walk back…so long as Anna was safe.

As Harald came into the center of the circle, he began to call out through the rocky valley. After all…he wasn't really sure how this was "supposed to work"…

"Help! Please!" He finally shouted to the surroundings. "I read about you! How you helped my ancestor when he was struck by Skadi! My daughter's suffering from the same! She may be dying!"

He felt only a little absurd, shouting out to nothing and no one. At this point, he was desperate enough to try it. However, he didn't have to feel that way long. He had scarcely finished speaking when there was a reaction.

Abruptly, the valley was filled with a "clickity-clack". It started off soft enough, but soon built in volume. The king reacted to this and began to look around. Kamilla and Elsa did the same, and the former soon let out a mild gasp. The sound was coming from the round stones. They were all beginning to wobble. And it wasn't from any quake or earth-shaking event. Each one was wobbling of its own accord…and growing more frequent. Finally, they wobbled enough where they were able to topple…and began to roll. Soon, each one of them began to, and all of them rolled in the same direction…toward the center of the circle.

Elsa grew nervous and drew closer to Harald. In truth, he was a bit nervous at this as well, and quickly put an arm around her, but other than that stayed calm. Kamilla herself drew close to his side and looked around anxiously as the stones rolled closer and closer to them, descending the "lips" of the concentric circles and approaching the royal family. Eventually, the closest ones drew within about five feet of them…and then halted. The other stones gathered behind them, one after the other.

Abruptly, the nearest stones "flipped". Stubby stone arms and legs with equally stubby, stocky feet suddenly protruded from beneath the stones and pressed on the ground, and then pushed up. As they did, the stones "stood"…revealing strange little creatures. The smallest were only about a foot, and the largest about two feet. The moss that covered them provided a sort of covering of "hair" over their backs, but the tops of their heads were cropped with green hair that looked just like tufts of grass. Most of them were dressed in what looked like brown moss or ivy that had been woven together into simple one-piece robes, and a few had necklaces made of grass and moonstone crystals. Their bodies were pudgy and small, and their heads dominated almost half of their bodies. In terms of the faces, they possessed a pair of wide, pointed ears, and large, bulbous noses over mouths filled with broad, jagged teeth, like stones hastily shoved into their faces. They were definitely ugly, looking like made of living rock. However…their eyes looked flesh and were innocent and kind. They did not greet the royal family with hostility or suspicion, but looked to them with concern on hearing the tone of the king's voice.

Elsa, on seeing the look in their eyes, gradually went at ease. Soon the rest of the family followed suit. In no time at all, they were surrounded by at least a hundred of the "rock troll" creatures, but none of them made a hostile move. In fact, shortly after they arrived, some of the creatures began to part to one side, making a path. When they did so, one rock troll, standing almost two feet, six inches…a giant among his kind…and with a beard of grass as well as hair of grass, a "shoulder-covering" robe, and a slow gait, as if he was older than all the others, began to come forth. Harald, Kamilla, and Elsa all looked to this one as he moved through the crowd, and finally stood before them.

He did not pause, but, a bit to the king's own surprise, he actually bowed in respect to him.

"Your majesty." The old troll stated, his tone old and gravely, but also dignified, respectful, and with an almost "grandfatherly" tone to it. Harald was honestly stunned. He was just now learning that the stories of the rock trolls were true…but he hadn't expected them to also be cordial to him. After all, most of the myths about trolls were that they were brutish maneaters. Of course…those trolls were also much larger than this one.

At any rate, the old troll gave a bow to Kamilla as well, and then raised his stubby arms. The queen realized after a moment that he was gesturing for her to bring Anna forward. She soon advanced and then bent down, so that she was closer to his level. Elsa watched this all anxiously. She too was rather nervous to actually be interacting with a real live rock troll…but right now, if he could help Anna, that overrode all fear. Besides…the creatures exuded a more pleasant and friendly "aura" about them than she expected.

As Anna came forward, however, the old troll looked to Elsa momentarily, causing her to shrink slightly from his gaze, although it was friendly enough. Then he looked to Harald.

"…It was your first-born's doing, was it not?" He asked him after a moment. "Princess Elsa…she was born on the first day of winter, yes?"

Harald stiffened slightly on hearing this, almost looking like a child who had been warned many times not to do something, had done it anyway, and was now suffering for it. However, he gave a nod. "Yes. She was born with…" He hesitated to finish the sentence.

"Born with the power accursed…" The old troll finished for him, quoting a line from the lay of the icemen.

"Yes." Harald answered. "Born with it…and growing stronger."

At this point, the old troll reached out with his stony hand and placed it on Anna's head. He closed his eyes for a moment, and seemed to concentrate. Elsa, by now, was feeling a bit uncomfortable about what Harald was talking about and how the old troll had looked at her. Again, her power was under scrutiny…and it was being called "accursed". Yet for the moment, she focused on her sister and waited…

* * *

Kristoff's jaw looked like it was almost going to fall off.

He hadn't gone as far as the nobles or their horses. Rather, he had taken refuge on a pile of boulders just on the outskirts of the area, along with Sven. Right now, they were hunched over one large boulder and were watching the entire situation with rapt attention. He had heard the rumors that this valley was filled with rock trolls…but he had never believed it. Yet sure enough, here they were. Hundreds of them. Not only that, but the nobles seemed to be "on speaking terms" with them. But what exactly were they doing?

He couldn't tell. He could faintly make out a few sounds of talking, but they were too quiet for him to hear. All he could tell for sure was that the lady had a girl she was presenting to what looked like the "head rock troll" and he was feeling her. For a moment, he thought it was some sort of human sacrifice…but that idea quickly went away. The trolls weren't nearly as frightening or horrible as he had been led to believe. Soon, the old one began to say something again.

Kristoff frowned. "I can't make out what they're saying…" He complained quietly to Sven. "But why would they be out here? Did they know about the trolls all along?"

Sven let out a small grunt in response.

"I guess so…" Kristoff answered, seeming to understand the 'grunt' perfectly. "But which one made the ice? And how?"

Before he could say another word, however, Kristoff received a shock. Abruptly, the rock he was crouched next to "unrolled"…and he nearly got poked in the eye as pointed stone ears unfurled from it and the head of a rock troll sprouted up right next to him. Soon after, he received a further surprise as a stubby stone hand came out around to his head and clutched it firmly, in an effort to get him to be still.

As Kristoff gaped in surprise, a troll face appeared on the rock next to his head, looking somewhat grumpy.

"Ssh!" It stated…immediately proving itself to be female based on the tone of voice. It was honestly hard to tell otherwise considering the trolls all looked the same. "I'm trying to listen!"

The mountain boy, naturally, didn't move a muscle. He just kind of stared blankly at the stone creature now holding onto his head. The nobles were all but forgotten in this latest turn of events. Sven did much the same, staring at the rock troll for a few moments. However, that was before he noticed a fresh bit of moss on the head of the troll. As a result, the reindeer soon reached out with his tongue and gave it a lick, trying to scrape it off. For a moment, Kristoff blanched, especially when the rock troll froze on feeling that, figuring that he had made it mad.

However, quite the opposite occurred.

A moment later, the troll let out a giggle, and before he knew what was happening, the stubby fingers of the troll reached out and playfully held onto both of them.

"Oh, you little cuties!" She remarked. "I'm gonna keep you!"

As the troll shifted her grasp into a tighter hug, Kristoff couldn't help but blanch a bit at that.

_What does she mean 'keep you'?_

* * *

The old troll at last let out an exhale. However…it was the sound of relief as opposed to tiredness or desperation. He soon looked up to the king again.

"…You were lucky it was her head." He stated. "The heart is not easily changed…but the head can be…" He formed a bit of a grimace, and made a bit of a shrug. "…'persuaded'."

This sent a feeling of hope flooding through the royal family.

"You can help her?" Kamilla asked.

The troll responded by raising a hand and making a fist. After doing so, he relaxed it and formed a palm, and then placed it on Anna's head. Elsa and her parents watched with earnest as he worked, and soon he drew the hand back. In response, what looked like a multicolored mist tinted with a wintry, silvery color suddenly streamed out of Anna's head, "attached" to the hand. The family reacted slightly to that, but let him work as he pulled it forth.

"It is best to remove _all_ magic from there…" He stated. "Even the memory of it."

He made a gesture with the hand, and the stream came forth before the family, condensing…and becoming, much to Elsa's surprise, a picture of her and Anna playing in the ballroom in their nightclothes in the snow that she had made. However, she soon keyed in on what the old troll had just said.

"The memory of it?"

"If Anna knows about your power, she'll only want to see it again." The troll responded.

With that, he made a gesture. Before Elsa's eyes, the picture of them playing in the snow "changed". Rather than the ballroom, it became outside on a winter's day, with both her and Anna dressed in winter clothes and playing in a regular snowpile.

Elsa nearly let out a noise at that. However…she couldn't find the voice to protest. Unfortunately, it wasn't done there. The troll shifted his hand, presenting a picture of them sledding down a snowdrift Elsa had made. It turned into a hill outside on a regular sled. He changed it again, this time to the two of them admiring Olaf. This too changed. Olaf was still there, but the two sisters were again warmly dressed and sitting outside, admiring it.

On seeing all of this, among other changes…Elsa couldn't help but feel a touch of hurt inside of her. She couldn't help but think of how much Anna loved her power…how she didn't shy away from it or grow nervous about it like her parents… Her hands began to uncomfortably wring.

"So…she won't remember I have powers?" She stated, almost anxiously.

A hand came on her shoulder. She turned, and saw Harald looking at her sympathetically. "It's for the best, Elsa. If she doesn't remember your power, she won't want you to use it, and this won't happen again."

Comforting and soft as these words were…it only made Elsa feel more uncomfortable. It also had another effect… She enjoyed her power, and so did Anna…but tonight she realized she had hurt her. In fact…she might have almost killed her. She had just been trying to have fun, but one accident…and this had been the result. As much as Anna loved her ability, Elsa realized that she couldn't use it safely around her. If the troll hadn't been able to help Anna… She would have never forgiven herself for that.

At that moment, she regretted deeply ever having disobeyed her father and mother in the first place. None of this would have happened if she would have listened to them and not been playing with it… This was why they were always afraid of her using her power…that something like this might happen… And if she did it again, she might not be so lucky…

The thought helped make Elsa realize why this was necessary and accept it.

But nevertheless…she still didn't like it.

"Don't worry." The troll said.

Elsa looked to him, realizing he was addressing her. The old troll gave her a soft smile as he moved his hand, and the visions again became mist, now free of silvery light, and began to move into his outstretched palm.

"I leave the fun." He answered her. "She'll remember all the good times you had and the love you have for each other."

Hearing that, Elsa managed a weak smile. It wasn't the best alternative…but it was something. At that, the old troll finished gathering the light into his palm, forming a small glowing sphere of light, and brought it over and placed it again on Anna's forehead. The light soon sank inside.

When it did, at last Anna's face changed. Her breathing became stronger as a soft smile appeared on her face, and her body grew warm once again. The only trace of any problem was her hair, which maintained the single white strand.

"She'll be alright." The old troll reassured.

Kamilla immediately broke into a smile, her own eyes tearing up as she hugged Anna close. Harald began to smile as well, looking to her with relief and joy. However, he did notice one thing…namely the hair. He looked to the old troll at that.

Before he could say a word, he shook his head. "I'm sorry…I cannot undo that. She'll only believe her hair was always that way."

Harald held only a moment, but then smiled and gave a nod. "I can't thank you enough. I don't know how to repay you…"

Elsa was looking to Anna at this point, and wanted to go up to her and hug her as well. However, before she could move, she felt the stone hand of the old troll move out and gently take hers. She immediately turned to him at that…and saw that the troll was looking to her more seriously. Gripping her hand lightly, he began to lead her a bit away from her family. Elsa was nervous at that…but in the end went with him. They only went a few steps before he released and moved a bit further.

"Elsa," He stated firmly, his voice gaining a bit more of an edge. "Your power will only grow. Within it is the essence of winter itself."

The old troll stopped, and made a gesture. In response, lights formed in the sky before him, Elsa, and the rest of the family. As the king and queen looked up to it, they saw what appeared to be an aurora for a moment. However, it rapidly brightened and condensed, soon forming distinct images. As they watched, a form came in the midst of the lights…that of a young woman in an elegant dress, and highlighted with an icy blue color.

"There _is_ beauty in it…and wonder…just like winter itself…" The old troll stated as he gestured further. At once, people appeared on either side of the young woman. They too were of the blue color, and they looked enraptured and happy as they stared at the woman in the center. As for the woman herself, she put her hands together and made a gesture, much as Elsa often did for making flurries, and then held her hands to the sky…sending a ball of ice into it, where it exploded to form a beautiful snowflake framed in the air. Elsa stared at this the whole time…realizing now that the young woman was her.

"However…" The old troll went on. "Like all things in nature, winter has its dark side as well. There is also the potential for pain and misery to others. Fear will be your enemy…"

Abruptly…the beautiful snowflake changed. It suddenly went from blue to red…and horrible, cruel, jagged spikes of ice came from it. Not beautiful at all…but terrible. Streams of red light came down from it, and went down to the people surrounding the young woman. On touching them…they changed. They went from being happy and captivated to turning red, and filling with anger and hate. They hurled accusations at the young woman, making fists, shouting, ranting, raving, and filled with anger and hate. The young woman in the midst grew fearful, looking about on either side, clearly filling with terror.

"Fear of those around you…and fear_ from_ those around you. If it gets the better of you, then the result will be catastrophic…both for you and those you love."

The young woman contorted in pain and fear…as the red people around her suddenly dove on her like an angry flood…and turned the entire vision into an explosion of red color.

This was too much for the girl. She let out a gasp, and quickly turned away. Luckily for her, Harald had drawn near, and she quickly put her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. In response, he held her tightly…but also reacted with growing fear. He saw the vision the same as her…and realized what it meant. His worst fear…that Elsa would be hated and hunted for her power…rejected by everyone for what she could do. And seeing this vision from the old troll brought before him…seeing his worst fears for her given form…it only cemented his resolve to ensure this wouldn't happen.

He wouldn't let it take place. Until now, he had been lenient about the power and had only told Elsa not to use it or restrict it. That was done. He wasn't going to let something like tonight happen ever again. He was going to take a much harder stance now…ensure that this vision never came to pass.

_I'm going to tackle this problem head on…_

"It won't come to that." He flatly stated, causing the old troll to look to him. However, his face remained firm and resolute as he held on to Elsa. "We'll protect her. She can learn to control her power. I'm sure of it. Until then…we'll just make some 'changes' around the castle…"

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As you can tell, I gave a hint of background to Elsa and Anna and names to their parents. As for Kristoff, his own background is a bit of a mystery. Although he appears to be one of the icemen in the opening sequence, he later tells Anna that prior to the events in this chapter, it was just "him and Sven". So I went with that.


	3. Chapter 2 - The Closed Door

_Chapter 2 – "The Closed Door"_

* * *

Things seemed to change overnight for Anna, and she had no idea why.

One day, she had just finished dreaming about last winter…when she and Elsa had gone out and built a snowman named Olaf, she had been pushed around on a frozen lake by her older sister, and she had a wonderful time jumping from snow pile to snow pile. She was almost surprised the next morning to realize it was the middle of summer, as winter had seemed to be just yesterday from how vivid the dream was. However, she woke to a rather sudden shock.

Elsa wasn't in the room at all. Not only that, but half of her toys and clothes were gone, and the servants were working on taking apart her bed to move it as well. Not only that, but many of the servants seemed rather sore and agitated that morning. When Anna tried to ask why, some of them were cross with her, but they wouldn't explain. It wasn't until she had gotten dressed and gone out to breakfast that the chambermaid informed her that this was their last duty as servants in the castle. They had been let go by her father. Although they received three months pay, the fact of the matter remained that there was only one family of nobles in Arendelle, namely Anna's family, and not a whole lot of positions available for servants. They would have to leave for other lands to find work.

However, what truly held Anna's attention was the fact that Elsa was no longer in the same room as her. Instead, she moved down the hall. She tried to ask her why, but she couldn't find her all day, which was unusual in and of itself. Elsa never went anywhere or did anything without telling her first. Yet try as she might, as she ran around the house looking for her, she couldn't find either her or her parents. Instead, she found another surprise.

_Most_ of the servants had been let go, in fact. No more than five or six remained behind, just enough to tidy up and handle the meals. Some of them were put on call, similar to the staff that her father kept nearby for when they were planning a party or celebration, but most were just forced to leave. If that wasn't enough, all of the windows were being shut and locked. The only ones that remained open were on the upper floors, and then only the ones looking out to the wilderness, not to the city. That made Anna even more unhappy. All she could see were trees and rocky hills, and those never changed. She wanted to see what was going on in the city. But she couldn't even find her parents to ask why.

By the time she went back to her room, all of Elsa's things were gone. A large blank void was left on the room opposite Anna. Where before she could have seen her sister at night…now there was nothing but a plain wall. It was unsettling to the five-year-old. The room seemed so large and empty now…and everything she said left an echo. She didn't like being in there now…and wanted to know why Elsa had moved. She left the room, intending to go search for her parents again…

And that's when she saw her.

In the bedroom across the hall, obviously where she had relocated, the door was open and the last of the servants were leaving. There was her mom and dad, going inside and leading the way. And there stood Elsa.

She didn't seem happy. Her hands were folded in front of her, and she was more morose and quiet than usual...even sad. Only very reluctantly did she step forward to the room. As she crossed the threshold, she paused and looked back to her old room one more time…and she spotted Anna.

Anna said nothing, but looked to her imploringly, as if to ask what was happening.

Elsa looked back to her for a moment, her face only filling with more sadness…and then turned away, entered her new room, and shut the door behind her.

After a time, her parents came out and explained. They told her that Elsa was getting older, and it was time that she had her own room. Furthermore, to explain what was going on in the rest of the castle, they said that there had been reports in the city states that made up the commonwealth of increased numbers of thieves and even assassins breaking into castles that maintained "open-door" policies, and so they decided to keep the castle shut. The gates were to be closed from now on by order of the king. Any decisions would be passed out via pages who would make contact at the gate windows.

To be honest, Anna didn't understand at all. Some of these changes were almost upsetting to her…losing both her favorite playmate and the ability to play outside beyond the castle gates. At first, she thought it would simply mean they would be closed _most_ of the time. But soon, she realized that it also meant there would be no more visitors or travelers to the castle, and no more parties or celebrations. And without the normal staff, it wasn't her room alone that grew quiet…but the whole of the castle. At the bare minimum, she figured, just because Elsa was in another room, it didn't mean that she wouldn't still get the chance to play with her.

Unfortunately…that seemed to be the case too.

After that initial door shutting, Anna quickly had to get used to seeing that door shut. When she went by the next day asking to play, Elsa merely told her in a very unfriendly and uncharacteristic voice to go away. She figured maybe she was ill or not feeling well…but the next day was the same. And the same after that. And after that. Anna soon found herself playing by herself throughout the castle…and since it was so isolated and quiet, it wasn't much fun.

However, she held on to one hope…

* * *

Three months after the "big change", Anna woke up one morning to see an encouraging sight. The light shining into her room was much brighter and "whiter", and she knew what that meant. Immediately, she leapt out of bed and ran to the window, and grinned from ear to ear.

The first snow of the winter season. Everything was covered in white.

Anna knew full well that Elsa's favorite season was winter. All of the fun times they had ever had together was when it was snowing. And she also knew Elsa had never said "no" whenever she asked her the "magic question": "Do you want to build a snowman?" Elsa had to know it was snowing too, and she had to be eager to get out as well. Maybe if she had some fun with her today, she'd feel better and would be more eager to play again like they used to.

With that in mind, she practically threw on her clothes and ran out of her room and to Elsa's door. Once there, she gave an eager knock.

"Elsa! It snowed last night!" She cheered.

No response.

That automatically dimmed Anna's spirits a bit, but she didn't give up. She soon persisted, turning on her "cute" voice and calling inside. "Do you wanna build a _snoooow-man?_" She asked with a grin.

Still no response.

The smile faded at that point, and Anna sighed. "Come on, Elsa…we used to have so much fun making snowmen! I know you like to do it!"

Silence.

"Elsa…what's wrong with you?" The girl persisted. "We used to be best friends! Now it's like you've gone away! I still remember how much fun we had every winter! Sliding on ice…making snow angels…snowball forts…jumping on snowpil-"

"Go away, Anna!"

The last trace of eagerness Anna had faded, and her heart sank. She thought for sure Elsa would want to do _something_ during the winter. This was the first time she had ever asked her to build a snowman and she didn't want to. What did this mean? If she didn't want to play even now…did that mean she really didn't want anything to do with her anymore? But if so…why?

She didn't know, but it was obvious Elsa wasn't going to open the door. Letting her head sink a bit, she folded her hands behind her and began to turn to walk back to her room. She supposed she'd be playing by herself in the snow for a change…

"Ok…bye." She said quietly before departing.

* * *

It had been a few months now, but Elsa still remembered that night very clearly.

Her powers were a part of her. They always had been. They felt perfectly natural and as much an extension from her as an arm or a foot. But after that night…she gained the same mindset toward them that her parents had. She could still see, both in her nightmares and her waking eyes, how a momentary accident nearly killed Anna. She could still see the images of hate-filled people scorning and loathing her. It was at that time she realized why her parents were always wanting her to hold them back and always fearful of them. They knew the power would hurt people. If even the slightest wrong gesture could kill…then her power was a terrible thing. She believed that now. And as a result, she resolved not to use them anymore.

As much as she hated being away from Anna…as much as she hated having to live in this room by herself…as much as she hated the castle being sealed up and quiet…she consented to all of it. Until she could master her power, she didn't want to be around anyone else. She didn't want a slip of her power to hurt anyone ever again…least of all Anna.

It broke the child's heart to speak to Anna so roughly…but she assented to that too. Anna didn't remember her power at all…and she wanted to keep it that way. She never wanted her to see it again. Anna thought it was beautiful…not realizing it was a curse. If it could kill those she loved and hurt people, Elsa wanted nothing to do with it. So long as Anna went away, she'd be safe from it…

However…she still found herself hesitant.

She sat at the window of her room right now, watching the snow fall. Seeing it come down like that…it made her, in spite of her resolve, think of her ability. The snow looked so innocent and pure right now…reminding her of the days when she would make it snow for Anna. And, to tell the truth, as much as she didn't want to hurt people with her power, as much as she was growing to think of it as a curse…it was still a part of her. A part she was forced to deny.

She almost affectionately put her hands on the windowsill as she looked outside.

_Maybe…just this once… It's already snowing outside… If I use my power by mistake, no one will know the difference…_

As she thought these things, however, she heard a crackling sound beneath her. Distracted, she looked down, and immediately gasped and recoiled.

A layer of thick frost, practically ice crystals, had formed on the windowsill from where she had placed her hand. And it had been spreading out far from her point of contact, going along the length of the window.

Anna and outside was forgotten as fresh fear went into Elsa's heart. Already, she couldn't always control her power. She would still have slip-ups, which was why she was living separate. But now…to her horror, she realized she hadn't had any conscious thought on that at all. All she did was touch the window…and it had begun to ice over. And this hadn't been frost, either…but actual ice.

Feeling her heart begin to race, she quickly drew her hands back to her chest and, making sure not to touch anything, she left the window to go find her parents.

* * *

Later that evening, in the drawing room, after night had fallen and in front of the crackling fire before the bookcases, Elsa unhappily enacted yet another change on her lifestyle as her father helped pull a set of white gloves over her hands. It didn't help that he was smiling and encouraging of her, or that the glove was more of the "dress" kind than anything thick or a mitten. The fact that she had to wear it was enough. She struggled to keep her head held high, to call on her "propriety" lessons. After all, those had only picked up, even if she got mostly education from her mother now. Harald and Kamilla knew full well, as did Elsa, that when she got distraught her power only grew worse. They figured the best way to get to learn the power was to practice more emotional restraint and self control. That was another reason she never played with Anna anymore…she just riled her up. In fact, as time had passed, most of her toys had been relocated into storage or Anna's room. Reading or drawing was considered more "tame" activities for her.

Yet this one was almost too much for her to bear, although she somehow sucked it up.

Once the glove was on, Harald placed his hand on hers. Elsa stiffened a bit at first…but there was no need. No ice came. No chill.

"You see?" Harald told her. "No ice. Just make sure you wear the gloves outside of your room from now on."

Elsa had to struggle not to break on hearing that. Now…she couldn't even touch things anymore. Yet the thought of what would have happened if she had touched Anna or her parents today instead of the windowsill… In the end, she sucked it up, kept her head held high, and nodded.

"How are you doing with your lessons, Elsa?"

She swallowed a bit, and gave a nod. "Very well, father." She said, making sure to speak in a calm, even voice, and to use a more "dignified" title.

"I'm glad you're committing yourself to them so well. It's better that you do. You'll do better as you learn more self-restraint. You'll see."

Elsa swallowed slightly, but then nodded. "…Yes, father."

Harald took her gloved hand more firmly, and drew it back Elsa's chest.

"Remember what I told you, Elsa. Remember it even if anything should ever happen to me and your mother. Conceal it…"

"…Don't feel it." Elsa responded, forming just the smallest of weak smiles. "Don't let it show."

He smiled and nodded back. "That's right."

* * *

Anna really wasn't sure why she decided to try this again. She hadn't ever had any success before.

Five years ago, Elsa would have told her just to go away. Now, she never even responded when Anna knocked on the door. It was almost baffling to the girl. She rarely saw Elsa now. She used to come down for meals and holidays, but over time, she would come for shorter and shorter periods…and now, at this point, she mostly just got meals in her room. She asked her parents more than once if Elsa had come down with some sort of illness, but they always answered the same way: "No Anna…at least…not exactly." And they would never say more than that.

At any rate, it was snowing again that day, and Anna was eager to try her "old line" again. She wasn't sure why. For five long years, it had never worked. Elsa hadn't played with her once that entire time, spending almost all of her time shut in her room or talking to her parents…but never to her. She had asked them about it more than once, asking if Elsa was avoiding her. They claimed she wasn't, but she had her doubts. By now, most sisters would have given up. They would have learned to just be content with themselves.

However, Anna wasn't "most sisters". She still remembered how close they were, even if the memory was becoming more and more faint with time, almost like another life. By now, she had almost forgotten what the castle was like when it was still open. All she knew for certain was that it was more fun than it was now. All she ever did was go around the house desperately trying to stave off boredom. Ever since her parents had locked the gates, they were pretty much the only ones to talk to. Sure, she could get away with a lot more, like riding her bike down the hall and breaking into the portrait room…but who cared? The whole place was silent, empty, and boring. As a child, she had merely been bored stiff all the time.

Yet now…a new sensation was starting to fill the girl…

Loneliness.

Perhaps that was why she gave it a chance again today.

On reaching the door, she put on her brightest, cheeriest tone. The few times she did see Elsa, she certainly didn't look happy. She had taken up acting like a "noblewoman" now, holding her head high, walking with proper poise and mannerisms, speaking in a calm, even tone… From what Anna could remember, Elsa never liked that sort of thing. She thought those sorts of types were "stuffed shirts", and she couldn't honestly believe her opinion had changed. She had to be using it to cover up some loneliness or unhappiness of her own…and hopefully she would realize Anna was there to help relieve it.

With that in mind, she knocked on the door. "Elsa, it's Anna."

As always…no response.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" She asked her. "There's fresh snow on the ground today… It's prettier than it's been in a while and the sun is out. But if you don't like that, we can do something else. We can ride our bikes indoors if you want. There's plenty of room for that. Or let's take off our shoes and skate around on the marble floors in our stockings. You know…something?"

No answer.

Anna held for a moment, but then finally sighed. "…It's really boring around here. It's starting to get to me. I'm actually talking to the portraits on the wall. Like I tell that one picture of Joan of Arc to 'hang in there' every day. I spent an hour yesterday just looking at that grandfather clock in the main room watching that pendulum go by and clicking my tongue like ticking…"

No response to any of this.

"Elsa…I know you _have_ to be bored just sitting in your room all the time…" Anna continued. "You look so stiff and rigid… Even if you don't want to play…could we just talk for a while? If you don't like it today, you can go back in tomorrow and I won't bother you…"

As always, no response.

Giving a defeated sigh, the girl turned and walked away again.

* * *

Elsa's calm, controlled demeanor had broken again. She had woken up to another shock.

After having kept silent while Anna spoke to her through the door the previous day, she had thought about the past five years while in bed that morning…five years of being isolated…five years of getting no more control over her power…five years of never saying much of anything to Anna or anyone else…and, most of all, the thought of spending more of her life like that. Another five years…or ten…or twenty…

When she finally opened her eyes, she received a rather bad shock.

In the past, she would have a light dusting of snow on her bed. But today it was much worse. She was surrounded by a layer of ice coating her bed and the walls, almost seeming to radiate a white light. What more…it didn't go away when she got up. Rather, when she got up and started to walk…the walls turned icy around her. Terrified, she got dressed as fast as she could and ran to the study, making sure no one could see her. She went as fast as she could, trying to keep the ice from spreading. When she got inside…confronted her parents…she lined the walls around her with ice.

Now she stood in a corner, looking at her own body with growing horror. The result only made her more distraught and fearful…and, as a result, the ice on the walls around her only grew thicker. Standing at a distance was Harald and Kamilla, both looking anxiously at her.

"Elsa…just breathe…calm yourself down…" He said slowly.

The thirteen year old girl couldn't. She was reaching the age where her hormones were coming to light, and she was having a harder and harder time keeping her emotions in check. Especially at times like this…

"It's getting worse…" She remarked, her tone tense and distraught as she looked at her gloved hands. "I'm controlling it _less_!"

Kamilla began to come forward, reaching out. "Elsa, honey…just-"

"_No! _Stay back!" The girl immediately cried, shooting back as soon as she saw her mother coming for her, pulling her arms away.

The queen froze in response, doing as she was told a moment later. The king could only look helplessly. As for Elsa, she calmed a moment later, and then shook her head.

"I don't want to hurt you…"

Harald and Kamilla looked to each other, their expressions both anxious. They shared the same fears their daughter had. What if she _wasn't_ getting better? What if she _couldn't_? What if the power kept growing beyond here, and only went totally out of her control? They could keep her here…but for the rest of her life?

The king tried not to look to distraught…not until Elsa managed to calm down. However, a clear thought still ran through his head.

_What are we going to do?_

* * *

Five more years slowly passed.

Elsa was seen less and less, until she spent almost all of her time in her room. She would only ever come out for thirty minutes at a time, and then only briefly. Although neither of the girls knew it, the world outside had changed. Many of the people wondered what was going on in the castle…why the previously warm and merry place, where the citizens were allowed to freely move in and out of the courtyard, had been sealed up. Yet that was nothing compared to the stories abroad. Many of the trading partners of Arendelle were growing suspicious and curious about what this meant. The kingdom had been closed for ten years now. No negotiations were ever held in person, but fully by correspondence. The nation continued to prosper, however, and that led to a great deal of rumors. Some said the mysterious nation had discovered a new source of wealth or resources that they were developing. Others said there was something more potent there…perhaps the source of the strange weather that kept it warm and thriving…a secret to be found…

Anna held onto the hope that Elsa would one day begin to talk to her again, even ten years after the fact. Yet in spite of that, the hope diminished a bit more every day, and with every unanswered knock. She couldn't even remember what Elsa's room looked like at this point. Elsa herself, whenever she came out, would be as calm and reserved as a monk, or one of those picturesque "princesses" from storybooks who were there to be seen and not heard. As Anna looked on at this…she began to slowly wonder if this was indeed who Elsa really was now. If she had embraced being cool and emotionless…rejecting all other contact, even from her own family…

She found ways to amuse herself over time. It wasn't as if Anna was _totally_ alone, after all. She could still talk with her parents. And since they were so shut in, they had more time to spend with her. And though she remained excitable and full of boundless energy, she had gained enough maturity to be more that they could handle. In fact, as hopes for reuniting with Elsa diminished, she spoke to them more and more as time went on. She grew happy to see them every day, to have someone to talk to and listen.

That was why, on this particular morning, things were rather hard for her.

The king and queen could only live in isolation for so long. So long as they were a member of the commonwealth of nations among this portion of Norway, they had to, at some point, attend a function. And it just so happened that one of the wealthier lords who owned a good portion of the mainland was having a wedding for his eldest son, and wanted all of the members of the commonwealth to come forth and attend, as he intended to hold a summit during the same time. It was a bit far of a journey, and even by clipper ship it would take a few days. The wedding and summit itself would take a few more, and then would come the return trip. In short, the whole journey would take two weeks.

Anna would be alone in the castle with no one to talk to for two weeks.

As it ended up, she spent almost the entire day inside her parent's bedroom. Most girls her age wouldn't cling so much to their parents…being more interested in boys or her own pursuits. But with the castle closed, and her a veritable prisoner inside the gates, they were the only contact she had. She watched with ever-growing melancholy as they finished putting their last few things in their travel trunks, and then calling up some of the "on-call" staff to take them out to the shore. Anna continued to anxiously hold on and wait.

It didn't take them long to notice her as they made their last few preparations. Harald stopped in his work and moved up to her.

"It will only be for two weeks, Anna. We'll be back before you know it."

Her face remained downcast. "It's going to be so quiet and lonely around here… It's not like the servants ever say anything when they're around…"

"Elsa will be here."

"Elsa never even talks to me." She groaned. "She only ever talks to you two…"

"Elsa…has issues that she's working through." The king said after a moment.

"That's what you always say… Hasn't she worked through them yet?"

The king held a moment, but then leaned forward, placed his arms on Anna's shoulders, leaned over, and kissed her forehead. The teenager tried to smile in response. She really did. But she couldn't make it. Even when her mother came to give her a hug and kiss of her own, it did little to improve her mood.

Soon after, she went downstairs, intending to see her parents off all the way. A bit to her surprise, Elsa was actually down there. It amazed her. She looked almost like a porcelain statue, the way she had her hair tightly braided and pulled back in a bun behind her head. Those clothes she wore… She could have sworn Elsa used to dress as loosely as her. Now, summer or winter, she dressed as conservative as possible. High collared dresses, long trails, and always those dress gloves. That was even worse… Since when had Elsa become a neat freak? She wouldn't even take them off for the few meals she had seen her eat…

When her parents descended the stairs, Anna actually watched to see what Elsa would do. But there was no embrace or kiss for her. Rather, standing at a distance, she merely pulled her dress up and gave them both a curtsey. Anna couldn't believe it. Had Elsa grown that distrustful of people that she wouldn't even hug and kiss them? Looking a bit uncomfortable at the whole thing, she turned and began to walk out the front herself. After all…this was one of her rare chances to get out of the castle, and she intended to take it.

As a result, she didn't see, when Elsa rose, that her face was creased with trouble and worry as she looked to her parents.

However, they merely smiled calmly back.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine." Harald reassured. "Just stay calm. Remember…conceal, don't feel. You won't even have to do anything in the time we're gone."

"Look after Anna, Elsa." Kamilla added. "We'll see you soon."

The older princess held for a short while, but then merely nodded.

Not long after, Harald, Kamilla, and Anna were all at the dock. It was the official one for the castle, rather than the city dock, much to Anna's dismay…but it was still more "outside" than normal. She watched with a sad look on her face as the trunks and luggage was loaded up the ramp onto the royal family's personal vessel. After that, the king and queen alike gave Anna one more hug and kiss, and then boarded. She continued to stand on the dock as long as possible, watching the plank be withdrawn, the anchor pulled high, and then seeing the ship begin to sail out through the gate of the fjord. Even when it went through, she continued to hold there until she could see the ship no longer due to the setting sun. Only then did she give out a sigh and turned to go back inside, already starting to count the hours of the next two weeks.

* * *

It wasn't for four months that it was confirmed beyond doubt.

The king and queen had been overdue for an additional two weeks before word came that there had been a terrible storm that night…the worst that anyone had ever seen who lived in that region of the world. The waves had grown so tall that even a clipper ship like that of the royal family could have been engulfed in a single wave and literally smashed to pieces… The last anyone had seen of them, they had been going straight into it, trying to sail through, thinking it would hold long enough for them to make it to safety on the other side. They never arrived at the wedding or the summit.

The search was extensive. Half of the nobles volunteered their own ships. Many of them didn't give up for weeks. Yet the part of the sea where the storm had hit had been miles and miles from any island or coast. In the end, all that was found was three pieces of debris. One of them bore the etching on it of an Arendelle timbersmith. The search continued after that for a few more weeks, but one by one the search parties gave up. The truth was too clear at that point. Word was sent to the castle.

It took three whole days for it to "sink in" for Anna. In spite of having been fourteen weeks after they should have returned, she lay on her bed and just stared at the ceiling…as if, at any moment, she would awaken from the nightmare. Yet slowly, she was forced to accept the truth. Mom and dad wouldn't be coming home today, tomorrow, or ever again.

Her parents, fortunately, had made most of the provisions for the event this would occur. They seemed to be counting on the fact that neither Elsa nor Anna would be capable of handling it. Anna definitely couldn't go out. As for Elsa…she remained in her room, the same as always. As no one had seen her in ten years, the on-call staff that was brought in to handle the funeral arrangement assumed she was in mourning and let her be. Anna somehow managed to leave her room…but it only drove the point more home than before. By that time, the staff had already drawn a black veil over the portrait of her mother and father. Seeing them through it…she could almost pretend she could still see them…that they were right there, looking back at her…

The next morning, which was appropriately gray and foggy from an early autumn, she clad herself in black, tying her braided red hair (with a single strand of white) behind a black bonnet, and then went out to the funeral. For about sixty minutes, she held at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if Elsa would come. At length, a servant came by and informed her that Elsa would not be attending.

"The poor woman…she must be stricken with terrible grief…" He remarked. "My lady, I admire your strength that you are able to attend when the princess cannot."

Anna said nothing in response. She looked one more time up the stairs, and then left.

The fog and gloom only accented the grim event. It should have been brighter and more cheerful. The hill that the king and queen had picked out was tall and green, overlooking the beautiful, rolling hills. But they were hidden behind gray clouds that day. There weren't even fresh graves there…just two dull, jagged memorial stones inscribed with their epitaphs. That was all. It seemed to cold…so hollow. If this was supposed to give Anna closure, she would have been better off staring at the black-veiled painting. She couldn't even read the language on the stones.

There was no shortage of encouragement, at least. Many offered their condolences. However…they were all strangers. Their words of "my sympathies" and "be strong now" fell on mostly deaf ears. She didn't know these people, and none of them knew her other than by reputation. Nevertheless, as the memorial service went on…she found herself lingering there and letting them continue to offer vain comfort.

Because when they were done…she knew she would have to go home.

Back to the sealed gates.

Back to the cavernous silence.

Back to being alone.

At length, they did leave. A few were polite enough to stay until Anna departed, not wanting her to be left there alone with the memorial stones. Out of courtesy, she went up to them, bid them her final goodbyes, kissed either stone, and then went home. The gates sounded more hollow and resounding than ever when they slowly shut behind her. Each footstep echoed loud and heavy as she made her way toward the castle and through the doors.

There was only one place left to go now.

Slowly, almost as if forcing herself, she walked up the stairs and turned in the hall to her bedroom. But she didn't go there. That would be just as isolated, quiet, and empty as before. Instead…she went to the closed door.

_How long has it been since I knocked?_

She reached it after a time, and, after hesitating a moment, she gave a knock.

Each rap echoed through the empty castle.

"…Elsa."

As always…no response.

Anna's eyes closed. "Please…I know you're in there. And I know you're grieving too. People were asking about you today."

No answer.

She slowly inhaled and exhaled. "…I lost count of how many people told me to 'be strong'…and I'm really trying. But…it's really, really hard right now…"

Still nothing.

Anna swallowed. "Elsa…I'm here for you…and…" She paused. "…and I really _need_ you to be here for me too. We're all we have now. Just you and me. We have to take care of each other."

She held and waited. As always…only silence greeted her. Keeping her eyes closed, Anna exhaled, and slowly turned until her back rested against the door. Slowly, she slumped down to the ground, until she was seated against it.

She spoke more quietly.

"…I've never felt so alone in my life, Elsa. I'm asking you…I'm _begging_ you…please…just open the door and talk to me for a little while…"

Not a word was said in reply. Only the silence and emptiness of the castle was there.

Anna slowly exhaled, and then drew her legs up to her, wrapped her arms around them, and put her head down on her knees. For the first time that day…she freely cried.

* * *

There was nothing in the world Elsa wouldn't have given at that moment in exchange for the ability to open the door, put her arms around Anna, and tell her: "Everything's going to be alright."

Instead, she stared blankly at the ceiling, her face wrought with agony, sadness, desperation, and desolation.

The entire room was lined with frost. Giant snowflakes hovered in the air. The temperature had to be colder than the cruelest Norwegian winter in the room at the moment. Only she remained unfrozen…sitting against the door and staring.

How could she go out like this?

_They're gone… Mom and dad are gone…and I couldn't even say goodbye at the funeral…_

_They were the only people in the world who knew. Ten years they tried to teach me to control it…and now…I'm worse than ever. Now no one will ever know the "true me". Now I'll spend the rest of my life hiding this from everyone…without anyone who understands or knows the truth…_

_I can't even talk to Anna…if I try…I'll break down…I'll lose control completely…_

_This isn't a bedroom… It isn't even a prison cell… It's a tomb…and I'm buried alive in it._

_Mom…dad…_

Choking too much on growing tears, Elsa bowed her head on her own knees as she brought her arms around them. As the snow danced around her, she seemed to stand out alone in the whiteness, struggling not to give in completely to the grief and loneliness. All she could do was struggle, as always, to hold back the tears.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 3 - The Gates are Opened

_Chapter 3 – "The Gates are Opened"_

* * *

Three years had passed since that day…and on the morning of the first of July, the scene in Arendelle was drastically different.

The fjord was open fully wide, and a veritable fleet of ships were arriving in the city proper. Almost every inch of docking space was being used, with all of the native boats having been put up or in dry dock to make room for one sailing ship after another pulling in. Some floating docks were actually being utilized for a change to accommodate them all. Each one bore the banner and standard of a different country. Over a hundred nobles in all were coming in that day. Forty of them had already arrived, with more were coming in by the minute.

The city itself was decorated in all of its summer splendor, but more so than usual. Flowers were for sale everywhere. Bright colors, both of the city and the royal family, were being erected on every street corner. Floral "may poles" were being set up with ribbons, and every lamp pole leading to and from the castle was hung with the image of a woman's head bearing a crown. All in all, the mood of the city was brighter and happier than it had been since prior to the death of the king and queen. Everyone was waiting with eager anticipation for one grand event…something that hadn't happened in thirteen years: the gates of the castle would open.

If the king had a male heir, he could have been crowned king at the age of sixteen. However, he had only daughters, and according to custom, there could be no female ruler until she was twenty-one years of age. The idea was that the princess would find someone to marry in that time, and then _he_ would become king instead. However, due to the gates being shut and Elsa's own rumored isolation, such had never come to pass.

It certainly didn't mean people hadn't tried. There were a few staff members, after all, who, through either direct means…or the occasional bribery…had passed out messages of Elsa. She had become a fine young woman over the years. She was lovely and fair to behold. True, she stood apart a bit from the rest of her family with her white-blond hair and seemingly pale complexion…but the rumors had said in all of Norway there was not a woman like Elsa of Arendelle. A woman who seemed to radiate a natural "nobility" and "regality" from her body, who had such sophistication and grace matched only by her beauty. And so, several suitors, again, through one means or another, had passed letters to her for a time. All of them were returned unopened. A few of the men reacted negatively to that. They figured she was either haughty, or coveted this day to come…and to seize the throne for herself. At any rate, they figured today might be their best chance to see if the woman really matched the descriptions.

Normally, Elsa would have been coronated the day of her birthday. But being the first day of winter, it was considered "bad luck". Instead, it was pushed until today, one of the warmest and most pleasant days of summer. Even then, it didn't happen automatically. Five separate attempts had been made by the princess to keep the entire matter a small, private ceremony. Had she been a male child, she might have gotten away with it. But being a female, there seemed to be inherent "distrust" of a female ruler, as if she required the presence of the rest of the commonwealth to witness, even "ratify", her as queen. Especially since the country was already so mysterious. Seeing nothing else for it, the princess eventually set today as the date, and all of the preparations had been made for an entire week before now. The city was just finishing up as the nobles arrived.

The surrounding city-states were more than overjoyed. Many of them had longed to see Arendelle for some time now. The land had long since seemed to have a "summer magic" to it, seeming to always make it warm and prosperous. Such myths were only sustained ever since the castle shut its gates and the nation had been open only to commerce and trade. By now, the entire country seemed to be shrouded in mystery and myth, and many were eager to see it…as well as the princesses. As the rumors had it, there was the purported story that Princess Anna of Arendelle was quite lovely as well, almost as bright and sunny as the summer itself, and so there was a potential suitor or two for her as well intermingled with the crowd…

The growing crowd of nobles was now abuzz with rumors and activity, all of them talking to each other about what was about to transpire, and wondering what the mysterious castle and the royalty within was like. They were matched only by the townspeople themselves. After all, the gates had once been open to the members of the community, and many could still remember when King Harald let them in and out freely. Many were eager to go inside as well, if only to walk about the inner court of the castle and enjoy the greenery and the lovely fountain in the midst of it. They too circulated more and more rumors about why the castle had ever been closed, and eager to see the princesses all grown up at last…

All this as the ships continued to arrive with last-minute guests, and everyone gathered near the gates as the appointed time for opening came near.

* * *

Anna was not exactly the "vision of loveliness" most had of her at the moment.

Being eighteen years of age now and often bored with nothing to do except run around the castle, she didn't bother usually getting up too early. On this particular day, however, she had been awake half the night with anticipation for this morning. As a result…she was sleeping in, and looking rather unflattering. She was in a discombobulated mess within her tangled bedcovers, her lovely red hair splayed around her head rather like some sort of mangy lion. It didn't help that her one strand of white hair seemed unaffected, dangling off by its lonesome to one side…or that another strand of her hair had been sucked into her mouth as she drooled out the opposite side, snoring loudly.

So loud, in fact, that the servant at her door had to escalate his knocking almost to a pounding before he elicited a response…and then only after about five minutes of it.

"Princess Anna?" He called in for what had to be the tenth time.

Luckily for him, that seemed to do the trick. Giving a bit of a gagging snort, Anna muttered and then absent-mindedly wiped her mouth, pulling her hair free, and then sat up in bed. She let out an incoherent mutter, her eyes still closed.

"My lady? Are you awake?" The voice called in.

"Mmm…hmm?" Anna muttered, only half-conscious. "Wha…yeah…"

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Wha…huh…no, no!" She said with a pleasant smile on her face…with her head sagging and her eyes still closed. She gave a weak stretch. "No…I've been…" She paused to let out a yawn. "…up for hours…" She finished…before her face began to sink and the beginnings of a snore started to come out of her lips as her consciousness faded again.

"Um…my lady?"

"Huh, wha?" Anna answered as her head leaned up. Her eyes remained close, but the smile returned.

"I'm just telling you that you need to get ready."

"Oh yeah…ready…I'm ready…course I'm ready…" She sleepily answered.

A pause.

"…Ready for what?" She asked.

The servant made a bit of a face on the other side of the door.

"Um…your sister's coronation?"

"My sister's coronation…" Anna echoed as if she was in a hypnotic trance. "Hmm…that's today?"

"Er…yes, my lady. The gates will be opening soon."

At last, Anna weakly opened her eyes, which bore a glazed look on them for a moment before they managed to focus enough to look ahead of her.

She just managed to see the clothes she had picked out for today resting on a mannequin…a beautiful green dress with shoulder straps that could hang on the upper arms, and a black top with gold leaf embroidery that would match that of Elsa's own dress. A simple gold pendant rested above that around the neck.

It was as if someone had just taken a pail of ice water, mixed it with the strongest coffee imaginable, and threw it in her face. At once, her sleepiness vanished as she nearly gasped in delight. In an instant, the covers were off and Anna was virtually exploding out of bed.

She didn't even know it was physically possible to get ready as fast as she soon did. In all honesty, she would have run downstairs looking like something the cat had dragged in with her nightgown still on if she could have. As it was, she gave herself such a quick and violent scrubbing and washing that she thought she nearly peeled off her skin. She was a bit stunned at her own ability to braid her hair and fix it behind her head in what she could only hope was something both elegant and alluring…more importantly the second than the first. The dress went on as well as her shoes and, in spite of them being more of the dress and formal kind, she ran with them out of the door to her room and quickly began to tear down the hall. She forgot about breakfast. She didn't have time for things like "breakfast" on a day like today.

Outside, she only grew more enthused. The castle was filled with servants today. Everyone who had been on-call for thirteen years had arrived three days ago to make the castle spic and span, and today they were removing every last shutter. The castle was almost like a foreign place as the curtains and boards were drawn back. She didn't know the place could look so open and light. She had practically forgotten the windows could open at all. She was used to treating them as just another wall.

She only beheld more delights as she ran around, becoming more enthused with each passing moment. Servants came out bearing hundreds of plates. She didn't even know they owned all of those plates! Why did they own them at all? It's not like they ever used them… And the ballroom was being decorated for an actual _ball._ It was filling with decorations and whatever hors d'oeuvres and food could be set out ahead of time. After all…it wasn't just a coronation. They were going to have a party afterward. _A party._ A real live party with music and dancing and fun and food. _Lots_ of food. She couldn't help herself. After all…she had missed breakfast, and she ended up stuffing her face with three or four bon-bons before quickly rinsing her teeth out to make sure there was no chocolate in them.

Anna felt years younger and more lighter than she had in ages. It felt like the first time in _forever_. The castle was actually going to be open today. Just one day…but a day that would be filled with music and fun and _people_. People to talk to and enjoy and celebrate. And she'd be able to enjoy it for a change. For years, she had only been able to read about things like this, or see it in the portrait gallery. People on swings or at picnics or…and she blushed a little to think of this…men flocking around an adorable young woman. _That_ was the part that made her the most excited…

Anna had spent her teenage years up until now shut up inside the castle. The only princes she ever met were the kind in fairy tale stories or that had been with oils on canvas. And as her later years had gone by, and the loneliness of losing her parents had gradually eased, she thought more and more about young men. She caught herself fantasizing about them often, in fact. That was part of the reason that, unlike her sister, she would be wearing this dress to show off her shoulders and neckline… She saw those pictures with such lovely women gaining the attention of all the handsome young folks around them…and she couldn't wait to try her hand at it. She was already dreaming of meeting one or more tonight…perhaps _the_ one. The thought was almost too much for her. If she could meet that sort of person tonight, it would mean much more than one day of this…but the rest of her life instead.

Could anyone look into Anna's mind at the moment, they might have begun to think she was being a tad on the naïve side. But those same people likely hadn't spent thirteen years inside a sealed castle. They likely hadn't had their contact with the opposite gender limited to family members, servants, and romantic stories where young women like her, or _younger_ than her, found the handsome, rich men of their dreams and instantly went off to live happily ever after. And they likely hadn't spent years wishing, hoping, and dreaming that some fantasy like this would come true, followed by months of planning it out in minute detail, and then weeks of almost pantomiming it with every picture in the portrait gallery.

As it was, Anna was likely filled with more joy than any other member of the entire city-state of Arendelle…

* * *

In fact, there was only one individual who didn't enjoy the coming occasion: the lady of the hour.

Elsa hadn't changed much aside from age. She still dressed as conservatively as possible. Unlike Anna's own dress, her own was a much "softer" green with gold embroidery, and worn over a black, high-collared, long-sleeved shirt. Over that, she planned to wear a thick, royal purple mantle with an additional collar. Her gloves were tight-fitting and practically non-dress, as they had long sleeves that reached up her forearm and were embroidered with gold. Even if she hadn't been wearing them, the sleeves of her shirt would have reached out over the back of her hands. Each one was stiff and rigid…and the end result was to make her look much older as well as dignified. Her hair was perfectly and tightly braided and pulled back almost to the stretching point, and pinned so well it couldn't possibly come undone if she danced for five hours…which she wouldn't. She didn't plan to dance a step that evening. The end result was that the young woman looked closer to 40, as if she should have been a queen long ago. Definitely that she was not interested in anyone. The last thing she needed tonight was a man fawning over her.

She had enough anxiety as it was.

Thirteen years of practice had enabled Elsa to keep many of her emotions under restraint. Some days, it felt like a physical pain gnawing at her insides…but there was nothing for it. The more of her emotions she held back, the less she had "outbursts" of activity. The more proper and dignified she made herself, the more she became a silent object to be admired but not to listen to or interact with, the more she obeyed the mantra "conceal, don't feel"…the less her power ever came forth.

But it still came out from time to time…against her will. She had gotten good at it for the most part. She had been practicing ever since she made the announcement last winter. There would be periods of two…three…even four days without an incident. She had practiced countless hours standing calm, straight, and tall, giving an occasional bow of greeting, speaking softly and with complete emotional restraint…and hadn't had her power "leak" even once. True…when her power _did_ come out, it was out of the blue. True, the less she used her power over the years, the more she could feel it welling up inside her…almost angrily…as if she had the urge to run but was refusing to allow her feet to move or even acknowledge their existence. True, when she was emotionally restrained like this, she felt almost like she was caged in this dress or had been coated with plaster like a statue to just be stared at. But the bottom line was that her power stayed in check.

And it _needed_ to stay in check. Now more than ever. She would be surrounded by people today for a span of many hours. If so much as a snowflake or ice cube came from her…everyone would know. Then it would be over. She might have been known as an isolated, distant, and reclusive princess…but she was still known of as being a princess. Not a witch. Not a demon.

That left one remaining problem…

She had asked, re-asked, discussed, and nearly pleaded with the priest today about a part of the coronation ceremony. After she was crowned, she would take the royal scepter of Arendelle as well as the globus cruciger, face the assembly in the chapel as they rose to their feet, and the priest would say a final prayer over her in Latin and declare her Queen Elsa of Arendelle. However…there was an important detail to that part. It had always been long-standing tradition that she would have to handle both items with her bare hands. To hold them with a glove indicated she was not only shirking the throne, but also the ordination by God, only reluctantly or "conditionally" taking on her seat.

Right now, before a picture of her own father on the day of his coronation, holding the same scepter and globus cruciger, was a table that bore a candlestick and a circular perfume box…both roughly the same size. Swallowing a bit, Elsa, her hands exposed and her gloves residing on the table nearby, reached out and took the items much as she would in a little less than an hour. Once she had them, she turned and, trying to keep the image of her father in mind, looking so noble and calm, she turned and adopted the same pose. She recited the Latin in her mind that the priest would say, ready to turn and replace them the moment that it was done.

Much to her dismay, she barely managed to get through the first two phrases of the prayer before she started hearing that sound that had haunted her all her life…crackling of ice. She looked down…and it was already forming around her fingers and expanding rapidly over the box and the candlestick. She tried to control herself and continued the prayer. But by the time she finished thinking "Elsa of Arendelle"…a good inch and a half worth of ice crystals were around both, molded around her hands and fingers.

Easily visible to someone in the front row…and _definitely _visible to Anna, who would be standing at her left.

Sighing, she replaced both items on the table. _Worst possible timing…_ She thought to herself. It wasn't until yesterday morning she had practiced that part and done it without ice. She had done it three times since then. Twice it had been good…but this morning it was bad again. And with everyone's eyes on her, she'd be more nervous than ever…and she had no more time to practice.

_But there's nothing for it…_

Resigning herself, Elsa reached for her gloves and slipped them on. Funny…after thirteen years, she had gotten used to them…but still hated them. She had to change them often, considering she did everything with them. Her hands always felt uncomfortable, and they would smell like fabric at night or chaff if she had a bad pair. Ones that were dyed badly would leave her hands oddly colored… But she didn't think of that. She thought of what was up ahead.

_It's only for today… Just one day…_

With that in mind, she took a deep breath, and was once again the stately, dignified princess of Arendelle. Folding her hands calmly in front of her, she turned and walked to her parents'…no, _her_ door. This was the royal bedroom…and it was now her bedroom. Thinking of that, she reached the handle and opened it.

The servants were outside, waiting for her already. They did not kneel…but this would be the last time they wouldn't when she arrived in the same room as them. Instead, they gave dignified bows to her, and Elsa, looking forward, perfect and firm, gave her proclamation.

"Open up the gates."

* * *

The timing couldn't have been better for Anna. She had been making her way across the courtyard to the inner wall of the castle just as the message was shouted from on high. The outer gate had already been opened, and people were already pouring across the bridge. Soon after, with a sound that seemed like Heaven itself unlocking, the large latch of the main part of the gates of Arendelle undid, and the massive doors opened. Anna, for the first time in thirteen years, obtained a clear view of the city-state.

At once, she burst forth from the gate and ran down the bridge…probably the only person around who was going the _opposite_ way. She ran and skipped, practically dancing as she grabbed onto the nearest light pole and swirled around it, letting her body dangle off the bridge to the waters of the fjord below, holding her hand out and enjoying the breeze. Her heart felt so light and joyous right now. Everything felt better out here. The sun seemed brighter and warmer…the air cleaner…even the cobblestone of the bridge felt "good", if such a thing was possible. Soon, she was dashing along outside to the bridge, and then ran out from there into the city proper.

One might wonder how it would look to have the princess running and frolicking about unescorted. However, the older days in which royalty would wear completely impractical dresses and stay shut up in the castle in that part of the world had largely passed. That said…Anna was a bit more uncontrollable in that regard. While Elsa may have preferred to conduct herself that way, not so with her. And although she was dressed lovely enough to immediately be unmistakable for a rich woman or a noble, it wasn't so lovely that she could be mistaken for the princess of Arendelle unless she told someone. And although her older sister might have preferred if she had an escort…Anna really didn't care. Besides, the royalty of Arendelle had always been more intimate with the people before her father had shut the gates.

Just seeing the nobles as she ran by filled Anna with excitement. Just seeing _anyone_ different from the same odd ten or so faces she had seen her whole life was something invigorating. That noble was broad and stout. That one had a tanned look to him, as if he was all the way from the Mediterranean. That princess there who walked with a young man with a tuft of hair on his chin for a beard was the first short-haired brunette Anna had ever seen…even if it looked as if the hair had been a bit "ragged" cut, almost like it had been chopped off in haste… And that was just the beginning. Even seeing kids running and playing or moving around the may pole was exciting. Just running about the small shops and getting a whiff of the flowers or some bread being baked was enough to put her in a tizzy. If it was this much fun just to get out and run around, she could only imagine what tonight would be like…

She soon made her way to the seashore and began to run along the docks, admiring all of the lovely ships, some made with woods and styles she had never seen before. She loved the sound her shoes made against the dock, even to only hear the "clickity-clack" mixed in with the occasional shorebird was a delight to her. Not even the scent of the various boats that had been pulled into dry dock, with that familiar wet-rot smell or the occasional scent of a dead fish that had been missed during scouring, could put her in a damp mood. It was almost a welcome alternative to castle must and perfumes… And looking out to the ocean, seeing the fjord gate wide, with the two watchtowers overseeing the last of the bright, brilliant ships coming in…she felt like she was walking through a dream…

And continued to think that until about a split second before something warm, white, and muscular smashed into her side. At that point, her mind soon turned to the fact that she had never experienced being knocked off balance while wearing her heels before, and the inertia of nearly being knocked over led her to stagger over to the side of the dock. Just as she was about to regain her footing, however, she found herself striking the edge of one of the rowboats that had been pulled in…and immediately going over the side and landing in it. Unfortunately, her misfortune was just beginning as the inertia of her landing in the boat first caused an impact that made a bucket get knocked up and over her head, and then followed soon after by the force pushing the rowboat mostly over the edge of the dock.

By the time she got enough of her wits to realize what had happened and reached up to throw the bucket off before it spoiled her hair…only to find a leafy piece of seaweed still over her face and mostly obscuring her vision…she noticed that the world was both getting taller and beginning to rise. To her horror, she was mostly over the edge of the dock now that she was lying in the boat, and it was in the process of falling over into the fjord. Based on how it was falling…it was likely that it would dunk her into the sea first before landing on top of her…immediately sending a wave of panic through her…

Abruptly, she heard a loud thunk on one side of the boat, and immediately it tipped back up again. Something was keeping her from falling. She reached up and pulled the seaweed off of her face, and looked to see the source, feeling just a bit irritable that they hadn't watched where they were going…not really focusing on the fact that she hadn't either…

And froze at what she saw.

What had struck her had been a splendid white horse with a braided mane. Across its chest it bore an insignia of royalty, and currently its forehoof was keeping Anna from falling into the water. But what truly struck her attention was who was on the back of the horse. A dashingly handsome brown-haired young man dressed in elegant white attire with black riding pants was on it.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry!" He said as he managed the reins. "It's all my fault! I wasn't watching where I was going!"

Anna didn't respond…but her anger had magically disappeared. Instead, she stared at the man. How his face seemed to be perfectly carved from a statue, how his green eyes were so vivid and alive, like a grassy meadow, even the way he cut his hair with his sideburns reaching down to his chin. The way he sat on the horse complimented him perfectly. It was almost like looking at a scene from one of her fairy tales.

_And I'm the young princess…_ She thought.

"Oh…" She finally answered after a moment…a rather long moment in which there had been noticeable silence. "Er…don't worry about it. I…I was just daydreaming is all…" She began to try and get herself up…but, frankly, was so focused on the dashing young man in front of her that she could barely focus on rising.

At any rate, the young man didn't hesitate long. He immediately dismounted, and moved over to try and assist her. "Are you alright?" He asked. "I hope I didn't hurt you…" Not seeing any other way to come in from the side of the boat, as it was still hovering over the water, he began to step inside…and nearly made Anna blush.

"Oh! No, no…I'm fine! Really!" She asserted, again trying to get herself up, and only really succeeding in rolling forward a bit into a seated position. However, she froze a moment later when he not only stepped into the boat, but extended a hand to her in order to help her up. She felt her heart racing a bit more at that.

"Here. Please…allow me to assist you, my lady."

She swallowed a bit, trying to hide a smile forming, and then tentatively reached out to take his hand. She felt a tingle the moment she made contact…

"Allow me to introduce myself." He went on. "I am Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

"Oh…um…" Anna answered, stammering a bit still as she solidified her grip ever so slightly and starting to rise. "Princess Anna of Arendelle."

Immediately, the young man reacted to that, his smile faltering a bit. "Princess Anna?" He echoed. At once, his hand retracted, and he immediately dropped into a kneel in front of her just as she had been pushing up from her seated position. Anna was rather surprised by this, and nearly lost her balance again. "My lady." He instantly proclaimed, almost as an apology.

Anna immediately began to correct him. "Oh no, it's-"

Unfortunately, she was cut off a moment later as Hans' horse seemed to give its own touch of propriety…removing its hoof from the boat so that it could give a bow as well to her. She had never seen a horse trained to do such a thing…but that seemed a bit moot as the boat immediately began to fall down again. Anna's face blanched as she began to fall back. As for Hans, he looked up and let out a small gasp of his own as he saw Anna beginning to fall, and quickly got up to stop her before she went over.

The horse seemed to notice the same thing, and immediately put his hoof down on the boat again, halting it. Unfortunately, the sudden stop caused Hans to topple forward…right into Anna. A moment later, she was falling back into the boat with him on top of her. The young woman nearly turned red as a beet in response. Hans himself blanched at the sudden change. For a moment, they nervously looked to one another, and then attempted to rise once again, both of them stammering apologies all the way.

"Oh…er…I'm sorry…"

"Um…that's…er…just let me…"

However, just as Hans managed to get off of Anna and allowed her to rise again, the horse realized his mistake, and that the boat was still slanted. Immediately, he pushed the hoof down enough to bring the boat completely up…and, as a result, caused Hans and Anna to spill the other way, this time with Hans landing on his back…and Anna landing on top of him. By now, he was looking rather embarrassed himself, and Anna felt she'd pass out if she blushed any harder. Her heart was practically racing.

"Oh…er…uh…" She stammered.

"Um…heh…" Hans echoed.

After staying in that odd position for a moment, Anna tried one more time to get off of him. "Er…sorry…" She lamely apologized as she slowly extricated herself, allowing Hans to do the same. "Er…this is awkward." She muttered, before correcting herself. "Er, not that _you're_ awkward. _I'm _awkward. You're gorgeous."

Instantly, she clammed up and stared off into space, feeling a fresh wave of anxiety at the slip she just made. For a moment, she despaired that she had just stuck her foot in her mouth…

Luckily, the prince seemed to take it in stride. Letting out a small chuckle, he pulled himself the rest of the way out from under Anna and began to rise, before speaking in a more "dignified" tone. "I apologize for running into the princess of Arendelle with my horse…" He gave a bit of a sheepish smile at that. "And…for every moment since then."

"Oh no, no!" Anna answered as she quickly rose, her blushing subsiding a bit at how Hans didn't seem to focus too hard on her slip. Swallowing a moment to compose herself, she continued as she tentatively made her way out of the boat back to the shore. Of course, she blushed again when Hans immediately gave her his hand to assist her in stepping out of it. She struggled to keep talking to keep her composure.

"It's alright. I may be a princess but I'm not _that_ princess…I mean, the queen… If you had run into Elsa, now _that_ would have been something…" She murmured as she finished exiting the boat, then fully turned to him. "But…I'm just, well…me."

On hearing that, Hans let out a small chuckle. "_Just_ you, my lady?" He asked with a small smile.

The smile was so lovely and dashing…it made Anna feel warm and excited all over just looking at it. "Uh-huh…" She slowly answered, staring at the prince with a small smile of her own…almost as if in a daze.

Hans smiled back at her for a time…but she said no more. After a few moments, he blinked in a bit of confusion, and his own smile turned a bit puzzled. Anna hardly noticed. She was too busy staring at him, a dreamy look on her own face and a smile on her lips. For a moment, her mind had slipped again…and she found herself just staring at Hans and fantasizing…thinking about how much she looked like the handsome princes in the stories she had read…and how, just like them, he seemed to appear out of the blue and meet her under the strangest circumstances… She had never seen a young man like him before in the flesh…and as she looked on at him she let out a dreamy sigh…

Hans, after a time, blinked a bit, seeming to grow a bit puzzled at all of this and wondering if something was wrong. However, he managed to keep his smile and patiently waited for her to say something else. Yet before anyone could say anything, far in the distance, back at the chapel within the castle, the steeple bells began to ring. Anna didn't even notice at first, continuing to gaze at Hans as if she was lost in a haze…

However, by the time the third bell rang, she blinked a few times and lost her look, straightening up a bit.

_The bells…_

_Elsa's coronation!_

Immediately, she shook her head and snapped out of it. "Oh…I've got to go! I mean…er…I'm not trying to avoid you or anything, but…I've got to get to the chapel! It's my sister's coronation! I mean…er…of course you knew that…but…"

She shook her head a bit, trying to collect her thoughts. Finally, she began to turn to run off…but then paused and quickly looked back for a moment. "It…it was lovely to meet you, Hans."

"Likewise." He answered. "I hope I get to see you again this evening, my lady."

Anna blushed again, and, giving one more grin, gave him a wave before she tried a combination of running away back to the castle plus continuing to turn her head to him and watch him…not eager to look away from him so soon. She backed away only reluctantly for a few moments, before finally turning and breaking for it.

Hans himself waved back to her as she left…but, unfortunately, it seemed his horse was trained to do that as well. He lifted his hoof from the boat to shake it after Anna…and Hans only had a moment to remark "oh no" before the boat toppled into the water, dumping him in first and then dropping the boat on top of him.

A moment later, Hans' pushed himself out from under the overturned boat, sputtering a bit from the seawater, and looking out in the direction that Anna had went. In spite of what had just happened, and the fact that he now had to hurry as fast as he could to wash up again and then change into an alternate suit…he still looked after Anna as he saw her run back to the castle, and gave a soft smile.

* * *

About forty-five minutes later, the coronation ceremony was officially underway in the palace chapel. All of the pews were filled with nobles from the various countries as well as their courtiers. The entire building was full. Up in the rafters, the local church choir was singing a hymn to mark the occasion. All eyes were reverently on the front of the chapel, where the bishop for this part of the country was conducting the official rites. Aside from him and a single attendant to hold the various symbols of royalty, there were only two other individuals in the front of the chapel…namely the two princesses.

Anna herself stood to one side. As the sister of the soon-to-be queen, she was the only other one allowed up front, since the rite of succession came to her next. Elsa herself stood before the bishop in the center of the chapel, her long purple mantle flowing behind her down the stairs, looking every bit the picture of a perfect noblewoman: reserved, calm, and poised.

As the hymn concluded, Elsa bowed slightly before the bishop, allowing him to remove the queen's tiara from the attendant and place it on her head. It fit in perfectly with her tied back hair, holding firm.

Anna managed a smile at this…but most of her focus was on the audience. In particular, one individual. Seated in the third row, having changed into a completely white suit to replace his soaked one, and trying to grin and bear the fact that one of the older nobles seated nearby was currently using his shoulder as a pillow, was Prince Hans. When she glanced to him during the ceremony, she saw him greeting her with a smile and giving a bit of a wave…at least the best he could do with the old man on his shoulder compressing him a bit. In the end…that made Anna smile a lot more than seeing Elsa being crowned…and she fought hard not to blush through it.

The last rite was stated…and the fateful moment came forth. One last part of the ceremony before Elsa was officially queen of Arendelle. The attendant turned to the bishop and presented him with a cushion on which was held the scepter and the globus cruciger. He held them out and presented them to Elsa.

The woman hesitated only a moment, and then began to reach for them.

"Psst…your majesty."

It was the bishop whispering to her. Elsa froze in mid-movement, and looked to him.

"Your gloves."

Elsa didn't move. For a moment…she had entertained the hope that the bishop would overlook it. However…she wasn't that lucky it seemed. She held a second more, then looked to her hands.

With deliberately slow movements, Elsa pulled on the fingers of her left hand, loosening the glove enough to pull it off entirely. With that hand exposed, she removed the other glove, put the two together, and laid them on the cushion. After doing so, she very slowly reached out and grasped the scepter and the globus cruciger…her hands visibly trembling as she slipped them over the two.

After doing so, she turned and held both up, taking the same position her father had before her. She looked forward…and struggled to think of nothing.

_Stay calm. Conceal, don't feel._

The Latin prayer began behind her. She stared forward as the entire assembly rose in respect. Her face remained firm and resolute…trying hard to conceal the fear behind it…as she looked forward.

_Don't feel…don't feel…control it…_

The prayer continued, and she kept holding. So far so good…but the bishop was only to the second line…

_Don't feel…don't feel…why is this prayer taking so long?_

She stiffly inhaled, and continued to stand there. Was she doing well? She didn't know… No one was reacting…

_Am I… No! Don't look at it! Control it! Don't feel! Don't look! Don't look… Don't…_

She couldn't help it, her eyes drifted down.

For a moment, there was nothing. But then…she saw the space around her fingers slowly begin to tint blue…

_Control it…control it… No…not now! Just a bit longer!_

A thin layer of frost began to form around her grip. It slowly started to get thicker… Her heart raced. Her composure began to crack…

The prayer finished.

"…Elsa of Arendelle!"

Before the "delle" had been said, Elsa was already turning around and putting the scepter and globus cruciger back. Instantly, she snatched up her gloves and pulled them over her hands again. No one noticed the desperation…even fear…on her face. The bishop didn't and neither did Anna…and all the crowd did was applaud. Soon, relief and calmness flowed back over Elsa. No one had seen. The hardest part of today was over. She had done it.

Feeling more relaxed and composed, Elsa folded her hands in front of her and again became proper and dignified, calming down and looking over the crowd…now as the queen of Arendelle…as they cheered her on.

* * *

An hour later, and the coronation ball was moments from beginning.

Following the official naming of Elsa as queen of Arendelle, the chapel gradually dispersed and made their way into the castle proper…in particular the ballroom, where the main celebration was going to be held. The room was abuzz with activity. After all, this had been the first time many of them had ever been to Arendelle, and the rest in thirteen years. Many were remarking at how lovely the castle looked, and how the town had a warmer climate and more pleasant landscape than any had anticipated. There was also talk of how lovely the princess and queen were, and how elegantly and regally Elsa conducted herself. A few of them had been a bit tense about having the first female ruler in that part of the world, but as dignified and proper as she was, they figured there was nothing to worry about…although one or two still thought that this meant good news for them, in that a female ruler would be easier to dissuade and talk into making deals beneficial for their countries… Overall, however, the mood was grand, and everyone was impressed with the castle and the ball that had been arranged.

At last, the announcement was made by the courtier.

"If I may have everyone's attention."

At once, the discussion clammed up, and everyone faced the front of the chamber, toward a raised platform that made up one end of the room. The courtier cleared his throat, and then gestured.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

At once, everyone gave their full attention and respect to the side of the room, as the queen, looking just as elegant and regal as before, walked into the chamber, her long flowing mantle trailing behind her, her head held high and perfectly poised, and her hands calmly folded in front of her. She soon came to the middle of the chamber, and then stood before the crowd, giving them all a fair smile, the kind one would expect from any "proper" noblewoman.

The courtier held for a moment, and looked around slightly. He swallowed a bit, seeming a tad nervous, and then made the second announcement. "…And…Princess Anna of Arendelle."

As he finished saying that, Anna immediately came running, blanching all the way. She had forgotten about this part of the festivities. Before she could enjoy the party herself, she had to pose with Elsa in the front of the chamber. Now, nearly stumbling in her heels, she rushed up to the front of the room as fast as she could, barely managing to get there before the courtier finished the announcement. Once there, she quickly folded her own hands in front of her, looked to the crowd, and grinned.

However…she couldn't do so long before the courtier came up to her and indicated up further…showing that she was supposed to be standing next to Elsa. For a moment, Anna blanched at that, and almost said no…before the courtier gently took her arm and led her up. Before she could stop him, she found herself placed next to Elsa in front of the room. Her older sister continued to smile forward…as always not even seeming to notice her. Anna herself was hesitant, but then tried to put her best face forward. She couldn't remember the last time she was this close to Elsa… But before she could dispute it, the room gave both ladies a round of applause. She was forced to simply stand there and try to stay calm as the nobles gave them both acclaim.

The applause died after a moment…and the ball was officially underway. The quartet that had been brought in to play music struck up the first song, and the nobles immediately turned to one another to start pairing up for the first dance. Some went to the food, others struck up conversation, but soon the room was filled with the activity of a ball. All in all…it was a fairly merry affair. The days when nobles would all do these sorts of gatherings according to "formula" were gone. Many swapped jokes. Others laughed about events that had happened. Some danced eagerly with smiles. While some people may have considered it a bit "stuffy"…it truly was a happy occasion. There was no "forced" emotion here. The room was decorated too brightly and filled with too many friends for that. And considering the fact that it had been ages since music had sounded in the halls of the castle, it was a bright affair.

Even looking at it…just seeing the ballroom filled with people…all having a good time and being real and live and not pictures or stories…actually made Anna feel good. She only wished she could join in soon. But she wasn't sure if she should… No one was telling her to "move" from this spot… Was she just supposed to join in or…?

"…Hey."

Anna paused in mid-thought. That was Elsa speaking. However, she didn't see anyone in front of her. A bit confused, she turned and looked to her…only to find her looking right at her and smiling.

"Oh…" She said uncertainly. She actually looked around again before looking back to her. "Are you talking to me?"

Elsa gave a nod. To be honest…Anna was a little taken aback. She couldn't remember the last time that Elsa had willingly been the one to initiate any type of conversation. For that matter, she couldn't remember the last time she had smiled at her. Looking at her like this, it was weird. It almost looked like she _wanted_ to talk to her.

Naturally, Anna was a bit out of practice.

"Uh…hey."

Elsa smiled at her a moment, and then looked forward. She slowly exhaled. "So…this is what a party looks like."

Anna held a bit again. She really _was_ trying to start a conversation, wasn't she? It was rather off-putting…and highly unusual. However…just the smallest hint deep down inside of her…a part that remembered back to thirteen years earlier…felt happy about it. She looked out as well and gave a nod.

"Yeah…I guess so." She answered. After a moment, she risked a smile of her own. "It's…a bit loud, but in a good way."

"Everyone looks so happy…"

"The music is really nice… I've never heard a live quartet before…"

"The decorations look lovely…" Elsa paused after saying that. "…And what is that wonderful smell?"

Anna, noticing that, closed her eyes and took a sniff. Unknown to her…Elsa soon did the same. Both inhaled deeply…and soon their senses recognized it. Anna's head instinctively drifted over to one side as she recognized the smell anywhere, and it brought a smile to her face. A moment later, she opened her eyes and proclaimed it.

"Chocolate!"

However, on doing so…she got the biggest surprise yet.

She found herself looking right at Elsa, who had turned her head in her direction in much the same way, and said the word at the exact same time. For a moment…the two looked at each other with happy, carefree smiles on their faces…and Anna felt something stirring inside her.

For the first time in thirteen years…Elsa, for only a brief moment, looked just like her favorite playmate from when she was five years old.

She could almost feel something warm in her heart…

"Your majesties…"

The moment didn't last, however. The courtier calling out to the two sisters caused them both to look away and before themselves once again, and they quickly calmed down and became "official" again. As for the courtier, he stood to one side and gestured before him to a man approaching them.

It was one of the wealthier nobles, as clear from the dress, which was neat, pressed, and made of fine fabric. The man himself was old and wiry, having almost a lean and gaunt look about him. He was of short stature as well, almost a head shorter than Anna. His nose was the only large part of his body, big and hawklike. He was gray haired, which was perfectly slicked back over his head, and had a pair of wire-rim, circular glasses pressed back against his forehead. He carried himself with much the same dignity and nobility that Elsa had…but he was still a bit off putting to both sisters. Anna, on her part, couldn't help but giggle inward at his dress and mannerisms, almost as if he had an exaggerated, even pompous, notion of himself. Yet as for Elsa, she saw a bit more. He had lines of something dark about his face…greed and avarice. The sort of noble her father had warned her while alive to be cautious about…

At any rate, the courtier introduced him. "The Duke of Weaseltown."

Immediately, the duke's face flashed a shade red, before he gave an angry snap to the courtier. _"Weselton!"_ He practically hissed. After that, however, he calmed readily and looked back to Elsa. "Charmed, my lady."

"Welcome, sir." She echoed back. She may not have trusted this fellow, but she knew how to maintain polite appearances.

"Might I have the honor of the first dance with my lady as queen?" He asked her. "I've been known to be quite nimble on my feet."

As if to prove it, he immediately launched into a series of rapid and boisterous steps. However…Elsa and Anna merely looked a bit wide-eyed at them. They didn't look to be so much dance moves as some crazed old man having some sort of fit, especially with how he jumped, trotted, made bizarre hand gestures, spun, and finally ended with a bow…to the tune of a sound of glue ripping before his hair proved to be a toupee…and hung halfway off of his head. Both women had to struggle not to bust out in a laugh right then and there. Anna even put a hand to her mouth to stop from doing so. After a moment, however, Elsa cleared her throat a bit, and then looked forward just as the duke leaned up again.

"Unfortunately, I don't dance. But…" She cast a glance to her side…and, for the first time Anna could remember, had just a twinge of mischief in her gaze. "My sister does."

Anna went a bit wide-eyed on hearing that, but before she could say a word of protest, the duke chuckled and immediately reached out and took her arm. "Ho-ho…well…good news for you, then!" He said, before immediately leading her out to the dance floor.

The princess looked back to her older sister in response, but all Elsa did was smile calmly in a bit of anticipation of what was coming.

* * *

Anna's first dance was…interesting…to say the least. To be honest, whenever the wild moves of the duke, which were completely out of tempo and almost violent enough to throw out her back, weren't casting her for a loop, she had to struggle not to burst into a grin. He didn't seem to actually dance so much as engage in what could probably best be described as some primitive tribal march. All the while, he made ridiculous statements about himself as his dance moves grew more and more bizarre.

"I'm like an agile peacock! I'm a chicken with the face of a monkey!"

What made it even worse for Anna to stay composed was as he trotted and pranced around, his toupee remained attached only by the flap nearest his forehead, flopping up and down, up and down, and making light smacking sounds each time to which he seemed totally oblivious to. Most of all, every time she cast a glance toward Elsa, she could see her sister almost stifling a smile. To be honest, however…she didn't mind. After all, Anna enjoyed the chance to dance…even if it was with someone like this…and seeing her sister actually smiling for a change brought back more and more memories of better days…

However, the dance with the duke wasn't completely "amusing".

The duke had brought only two men along with him…and they were not a very pleasant-looking sort. In spite of their reasonably official and neat dress, they didn't look much like nobles. They had rougher, keener looks about them, and they were definitely taller, stockier, and more intimidating looking than most of the other guests. They cast dark looks about them at all time, with eyes that seemed a bit too narrow…like they were used to zeroing in on things…animals or otherwise. They had the look more of bodyguards than companions of the duke, and it seemed as if that was what they were. Of course…they seemed a bit of the rougher sort even for that. As if they weren't so concerned with protecting a life as neutralizing potential threats…

The other unsettling part was that the duke, in between his rather crazy proclamations, asked a bit more serious questions while dancing.

"It's so nice having the gates open…" He mused at one point. "Whyever were they closed in the first place?"

"Oh…well…er…" Anna had tried to respond. In truth, she didn't know why. Her parents had thought it was a good safety measure…but when Elsa only continued the trend, she assumed it was due to just a general dislike of people…

"Any _secrets_ you wanted to keep a lid on, hmm?" The duke continued when she hesitated, his voice sounding rather probing and prying regardless of his attempts to sound friendly.

"Well…no…"

"And what about your sister? She's such a mysterious one… I hear she keeps to herself. Anything she may be hiding, hmm?"

"Well…you'd have to ask her that."

Luckily, after this point, the duke went back to his crazy gyrations and rambling again, which helped put at ease any suspicion or discomfort that had been growing in Anna's mind.

At long last, the song ended. Anna made her way back to the front with Elsa…struggling not to limp a bit as she did so. In spite of how "exciting" that had been, however, she managed to keep a smile on her face. Elsa, on her part, actually let out a small laugh as she neared.

"Well, he certainly was…spry." She remarked.

"Especially for a man in heels…" Anna added.

Surprisingly enough, Elsa actually gave a small laugh on hearing that, putting Anna a bit more at ease as she returned to her side. Once there, she looked out again.

"Really though…this is fun." She said after a moment. She looked out to the room again, seeing other people dancing…far more conservatively and less "crazed" than the duke, but still enjoying themselves immensely. The new song was even better than the first, and everyone was laughing, smiling, and having a good time. Just seeing the ballroom filled with people and happy faces was enough to start making Anna happier herself. It began to rub off on her. Just seeing all these people here put a smile on her face…

"I'm really having a good time, Elsa." She said after a moment, before turning to her. "…I wish it could be like this _all_ the time."

Then, to Anna's greatest surprise yet…Elsa smiled back and said something she never would have expected to hear from her.

"Me too."

For a few seconds, Anna couldn't believe her ears. Had Elsa really just said that? If she did…did that mean…? A few rays of hope shone in Anna's own heart, thinking for a moment that this entire party had changed her outlook, had changed everything…

Yet as she looked on at Elsa, the queen's face looked as if it was thinking of something…something that made the smile slowly fade. Her face darkened, and her eyes fell…almost in an expression of regret…and sadness.

"…But it can't." She said softly, before she began to turn away.

Seeing the "normal" Elsa return so suddenly was not expected. It actually concerned Anna a bit. Her own smile faded, and she looked in a bit. "Why no-"

"It just _can't_, alright?" Elsa retorted rather sharply, almost angrily…or bitterly. At any rate, she didn't face Anna to say that. She only turned her head slightly, stated that, and then let out an exhale before turning fully away from her and beginning to walk to a different part of the room.

Anna stared at her a moment, her own face turning downcast. _There's the Elsa I know and "love"…_ She thought grimly. She honestly didn't understand her one bit. For a moment, she thought Elsa really was just as happy as her to have the gates open and celebrate. So why was she so eager to go back to her previous lifestyle? What exactly was so great about being shut up in her room all the time, alone and isolated from everyone? In fact…the more time went by, and the more time Anna spent around all of these smiling, happy, and laughing people…the more she began to fear what would happen tomorrow when the gates were shut once again…

The thought honestly made Anna a bit fearful…

Soon, the young woman was in a downcast mood herself as she began to walk back into the midst of the nobles. If this event wasn't making Elsa change her mind about ending this life of isolation and loneliness…what would? And how long would she have to endure it? The rest of Elsa's natural life? Would she be stuck in this castle with the windows always shut up, the gates always locked, and wandering around alone and isolated until she was an old woman? It felt almost like a prison sentence to her… She knew she had to get over it. That she had to focus on the party at hand. If this was going to be her only day living like a "real" princess, then she had to make the most of it. But she was brooding so much…despairing about how tomorrow it would be back to that miserable, lonely life…

As she dreaded the moment coming, Anna failed to see where she was going…and ran right into a nobleman's foot. Still not perfectly used to her heels, her foot immediately caught, and a second later she began to trip. She came to her senses too late, and saw herself going down, exclaiming a bit in surprise and ready to fall on her face…

Before a hand shot out and took hers, immediately stopping her.

Anna took only a moment to exhale in relief, and then looked back up to see her savior…and soon got a pleasant surprise.

Hans let out a small laugh as he began to pull her back up. "This is getting to be a bit routine, my lady."

Anna immediately blushed again, but kept herself more composed this time as she allowed herself to be pulled back up. "Sorry, I was just…"

"Daydreaming again?" Hans responded. "You seem to have a lot on your mind, if you don't mind me saying so."

Anna blanched a bit, but managed to keep her smile as she smoothed out her dress. "It's…it's nothing really. Anyway…" She looked back up and smiled a bit wider. "I'm glad to see you again. I hope I didn't…you know…ruin anything…"

"Oh no, of course not." Hans answered. He snickered a bit. "To tell the truth, I actually liked this suit better. And…" He hesitated a moment, then smiled a bit wider. "…I was hoping to run into you again this evening. I was wondering if I could have the next dance."

The princess nearly lit up on hearing that. Her heart began to rush. "Yes! I mean…of course!"

* * *

The next dance ended up being the next three dances. Two of them were rather rapid, and the two were rather flushed afterward. Plus, the ballroom was getting a tad on the warm side, so Anna decided to go for a stroll in the castle garden…and offered Hans the chance to escort her. He readily accepted. Soon, they were leaving the hustle and bustle of the ballroom behind, and enjoying the warm summer night, listening to the sounds of the crickets and admiring the smell of the flowers hanging from the arbors as they walked by. When that happened, they began to get to talking, asking each other about themselves and how their lives were like.

Anna, unfortunately, had little to say. After all…what could she really talk about besides her interests? When she had been sealed in the castle for practically thirteen years, she didn't have a whole lot of life experiences to go through. However, Hans didn't seem to mind. He hung on her every word. He was intrigued by every book she read, and when she talked about the portraits in the gallery, he seemed very intrigued to learn about them as well. Naturally, he also asked about her white strand of hair, but all she could simply say was that it was a birthmark of a sort, which it was. She had it since the day she was born. She was well flattered by this. She had always assumed, to a degree, the same as Elsa had…that men were interested more in talking about themselves and just admiring pretty faces. Hans actually listened to her…which was a nice change. Goodness knew Elsa never did…

When it was his turn to talk, Anna was fascinated by his stories of the Southern Isles. They were warm and lovely like Arendelle most of the year, although they owed their warmth not to any special sea currents but due to just being farther to the south. He told stories of all the traders that came by, and how they actually received shipments from tropical isles every so often with things most Norwegians had never seen before. Over the course of talking, the two made their way back inside and, before she knew it, went to one of the balconies that had hanging ivy to sit under the stars and continue the conversation, just as it turned to his own family.

"You know, I actually have _twelve_ older brothers."

Anna couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Twelve? Oh my..."

"Mom and dad came from large families… And get this. When we were kids, three of them used to pretend I was invisible. For _two_ years!"

The princess couldn't help but let out a louder laugh, cupping her mouth a bit as she did so. "Oh, that's terrible!" She said in spite of that. "I can't believe they'd be that mean!"

Hans gave a shrug in response. "Well…they're brothers. That's what they do…ignore you."

Anna's smile faltered a bit. "…And _sisters_." She answered a bit wistfully. She exhaled as she looked back to where they were walking, as Hans raised an eyebrow and focused on her. "Elsa and I…I can remember how we used to be so close. Best friends. Then one day…she seemed to change overnight. All she does now is shut me out…"

The prince looked to Anna with some concern on hearing that, especially on noticing her smile rapidly fading. He held a moment, but then chanced something. He reached out and touched her chin lightly, prompting her to turn back and look to him. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I could never shut you out." He told her. "You're the most energetic and exciting young woman I ever met. I don't see how anyone could turn you away."

Anna, on hearing this, couldn't help but smile again. It felt so nice to just get _complimented_ for once… All of this evening felt so lovely. As nice as the party was, the nicest part by far was Hans. She realized she wouldn't mind if he had been the only person who had shown up…so long as it meant spending this time here. This felt more like one of her fairy tales all the time…

"Hey…you want to know something crazy?" She asked, feeling her excitement growing inside of her.

Hans snickered a bit. "I love crazy. Go on."

"Living here for the past thirteen years…it's felt almost like my whole life everyone has only been isolating me or shutting doors in my face. Like they've been going out of their way to make me be by myself or ignore me… But then…I meet you tonight…and you're the first person in ages who feels like you actually want to get to know me. Like you actually _enjoy_ being around me." She paused a moment, then snickered and shook her head. "I'm sorry…maybe I'm being a bit melodramatic but…if you lived like I have for so long…"

"No, no, it's alright!" Hans immediately corrected. "It's actually really funny that you said that."

Anna looked up a bit. "…It is? Like…funny ha-ha or…"

"I mean…I kind of feel the same way. I've been a lot of places in this world too. Trying to find somewhere which…I don't know…_felt_ right. Somewhere I felt I belonged…and someone who I felt I belonged _with_. And then…I met you tonight. And it almost felt as if something was going right for a change…"

Anna blinked and stared back momentarily at that, honestly surprised.

On seeing the reaction, the prince's face blanched a bit. "…I'm sorry, did I come on too strong?" Hans said, getting a bit nervous. "Oh…I shouldn't have said that out loud…" He began to turn his head away slightly. "I'm-"

Before he could say another word, however, Anna's hands went out and took his. Immediately, he looked back up to her, and saw her surprise had vanished and was replaced by growing joy. She began to pull him up.

"Come on."

He blinked. "Where are we going?"

"To so something I haven't done in thirteen years…have some fun."

* * *

And so, the night only expanded from there. Anna knew she only had one night with this handsome young prince, and she wanted to make it last and enjoy the city of Arendelle at the same time.

The two of them first went to the highest tower of the castle and walked about the parapet under the stars, just in time to catch the fireworks for the coronation celebration. Then, she got a bit "sillier", and talked Hans into taking off his shoes with her and sliding along the marble floors on the upper gallery when none of the guards or watchmen were looking. Not only did he go along with it, he actually laughed and enjoyed it the whole time. After that, she ran with him out to the boardwalk and went along the stone pathway, just enjoying watching how the moon turned the fjord waters into a silvery stream. Then they went to the lighthouse, and actually danced to the town music, allowing the light to project them against the sails of one of the ships in the harbor. If that wasn't enough, they even went to the clock tower and did something Anna had wanted to do since she had been little…and thought she might do with Elsa…goofily move along with the little dolls that came out every hour. Hans seemed to be rather good at going through the mechanical motions…better than her at any rate. She honestly wondered if he had practiced back at the Southern Isles. To top it off, they went back to the stables in Arendelle and played a bit of a "hide and seek" game behind the doors.

They continued to talk as this happened, talking about how much they felt about each other…their same mutual attraction…gradually moving on to how they seemed to think alike, had so much in common, and most of all how this whole night seemed just perfect in every way. Anna felt on cloud nine. Everything about this evening was as she dreamed in every conceivable way. She no longer thought of this as a fairy tale…but more like a wish come true. She imagined every day being like this…having someone who actually loved her and cared about what happened to her…who was even willing to have _fun_ with her like this and would talk to her and listen to her concerns…

And to top all of that off…someone who wasn't bad looking at all.

Although it was getting late, Anna ended up taking Hans one more place before the evening was done. It took a bit of extra time to get there, but there was a waterfall from a natural spring against the hills that made the backdrop of the castle. Just a small one…but there had been a carved out passage that led from the base up, around, and behind it to an opening, so that one could come out and have water run down on either side of them. It was partially of a desire to see Arendelle from that lovely view…and partially a bit more of another desire. The local legend was that you should only go out there at night with your true love…

But she had to admit, once they got there, seeing the city all lit up and the last of the fireworks going off, and how perfect and pristine everything seemed…she had never been happier. She couldn't remember a time in her entire life that everything on a night seemed to go so perfect, or how wonderful it felt just to spend the last few hours with Hans… How it would be so lovely to feel this way all the time…

"My lady…um…Anna?"

The young woman turned to Hans as he said this, blushing again as he had gone from using the "proper title" to her first name. Of course she didn't mind, but she thought it was cute how he was still hung up on the original greeting. The prince looked back to her momentarily, seeming to be a bit nervous himself, and then exhaled.

"Can _I_ say something crazy?"

Anna looked back to him a moment, but then gave a nod.

Her heart nearly surged into her throat a moment later when Hans gently took her hand and he dropped onto one knee before her.

"Will you marry me?"

For a moment of silence, Anna stared back, almost completely aghast. Now this really _was_ like a fairy tale of her dreams. She couldn't believe it. She met the perfect guy…had the perfect, most wonderful evening of her life…and now…here he was, really kneeling before her, and actually asking for her hand in marriage. It seemed so sudden…so overwhelming…like the greatest fantasy she had for this evening coming true…like it couldn't possibly be real…

Then, she thought of home. She thought of closed gates, shuttered windows, isolation, spending hours and hours walking through the halls with no one to talk to…not knowing when she would ever have the chance to meet anyone else and, if she did, if they would be even half the man Hans was, if they would love her and appreciate her as much as he did…

And how wonderful tonight was…how every part of it seemed magic…how Hans hung on her every word, went with her to play all these crazy, silly games…who gave her the love she so desperately wanted for so long…

"…You want to hear something crazier?" She answered him after a moment.

Hans looked to her expectantly.

Nearly leaping for joy, and bursting into a wide grin, she proclaimed: "Yes!"

* * *

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 4 - The Queen's Secret

_Chapter 4 – "The Queen's Secret"_

* * *

It was getting late at this point. Midnight was only thirty minutes away, and Anna realized if she didn't get back to Elsa soon, she wasn't going to get the chance at all. She had to practically run back with Hans in order to return to the castle and the ballroom in time. Luckily, on arriving there, she was pleased to see things were still in full swing. Knowing Elsa, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to wait to close the gates once again, but everyone was still having a merry time. She was only a bit disappointed to see almost all of the chocolate was gone…but she ignored that. She was too happy about what she had just agreed to.

Grinning all the way, with Hans doing much the same, she wove her way through the crowd back for the front of the room, looking around through all the nobles and dignitaries to see where her sister was. It took a bit of time and meadering, but she soon saw what she had suspected all along. Elsa was still near the front of the room, having probably not moved more than ten meters all night. At the moment, she was greeting two of the nobles, a couple, in the way she always did everything…perfectly dignified and proper. She only kept her hands folded in front of her and bowed her head to them.

However, Anna didn't really mind that right now.

"Elsa!"

The queen turned her head to her sister on hearing her call. The two nobles excused themselves, moving to one side to rejoin the party. As Elsa fully turned to face Anna, she finished dragging Hans right up to her and to a halt. Once there, both of them clasped each other's hands eagerly and held tight, all smiles as they were practically hanging on one another.

"I have something-" Anna began.

"We were wondering-" Hans said at the same time.

They immediately looked to each other, and soon snickered a bit. "Um…you tell her."

"No, that's ok. It should be you."

"That's alright."

"No, no…that's fine."

Elsa, by now, was looking rather puzzled at this entire exchange. Anna, however, giggled again at this, growing more excited by the minute, and finally turned to her.

"I…" She paused, then looked to Hans again. After gazing into each other's eyes a moment and exchanging another smile, she looked back to Elsa. "That is…_we_…heh…" She swallowed. "Would like to ask for your blessing on our marriage!"

Elsa's smile faded and turned immediately into confusion.

"What…'marriage'?"

"Hans asked me to marry him…and I said yes!" Anna grinned from ear to ear, holding onto the prince's arm and nearly bouncing up and down. A moment later, she rolled her eyes a bit and gestures. "Of course…we haven't figured out all the details yet. We'll need at least a week to plan the ceremony…what the menu will be… Sandwiches and chocolate of course…"

Elsa's confusion, by now, was turning into incredulousness. "You're wanting to marry someone…you just _met_?"

Anna and Hans didn't even seem to notice. He looked to Anna and voiced another concern. "Oh, and where we're going to live. Can it be here?"

"Oh, that would be great!" Anna immediately cheered.

Now, the confusion and incredulousness began to be mixed with another emotion in Elsa…a hint of fear.

"And your twelve brothers can come and visit us and stay over whenever they want!" The princess continued, growing more excited all the time.

"Wait…" Elsa finally stated, more forcefully and aloud, holding up her gloved hands in a stopping gesture. "Hold on for just one second…"

At last, Anna and Hans seemed to break out of their daydreaming long enough to look to the queen. She inhaled a bit, and then lowered her hands again.

"No one is coming over. No one is getting married."

The dream-like joy that Hans and Anna had been in moments earlier evaporated in instants. Anna, on her part, actually showed a bit of hurt in her eyes. For a moment, she released Hans and walked closer to Elsa.

"What? Why not?" She asked.

Elsa grimaced a bit and looked around. She soon got another ripple of anxiety. A few of the surrounding nobles had seen Anna's cheering and plan-making…and now about eight of them were watching the three of them. It made her feel nervous…and her hands started to tingle inside her gloves…

After a moment, she looked to Anna and spoke quietly. "…Could we talk privately for just a moment?"

"No."

Elsa actually reacted a bit to that, but there was no hesitation in Anna's voice. She still looked hurt at the queen for what she just said. Soon after, she stepped back, once again took Hans' arm, and then looked to her.

"Whatever you have to say…you can say to both of us."

Hans was keeping silent. He looked a bit hurt himself, but he held his tongue and simply looked to Elsa, watching and waiting. By now, about ten nobles were watching them…increasing the queen's anxiety. However, after a moment, she exhaled again, suppressing her emotion, and once more drew herself up, becoming "proper and dignified" again.

"…Fine." She answered plainly. "You can't marry someone you just met."

"You _can_ if it's true love!" Anna insisted.

Elsa merely gave her a tired sigh. "Anna, what would you know about love?"

"More than _you_! All you know how to do is shut people out!"

The words felt like a small needle in Elsa's heart. She actually caught herself and was silent for a brief moment. At that second…she realized the truth. It hit her like a ton of bricks…so obvious and yet missed by her for so long. She had spent so much time devoting her every waking moment for thirteen years to controlling her power, not letting it show, and not revealing the slightest bit of it around Anna…that she had never realized what was literally right in front of her face.

She's_ been locked in this castle with me…and she never knew why… I thought I was protecting her from me, but…she's been wandering around the halls so much…with no one at all… No one to even talk to… That's why she wouldn't stop trying to knock on my door all that time… That's why…_

_ Oh God…_

The surge of emotion was undeniable now. She could feel her fingers tingling stronger than ever within her gloves. Almost itching… She knew she wouldn't be able to hold it much longer. She had to get out of here…now, while she still could hold it back. It had been too long since she had used it willingly. And with her heart stirring, it wanted to come out more than ever.

As calm as she could be, she inhaled again and tried to smooth her face out. But this time, her emotion was very slowly beginning to leak through her "china doll" expression.

"You asked for my blessing…the answer is no."

Anna's look of hurt was almost too much for Elsa…knowing that this had to be only the latest of a very long chain of thirteen years of hurts she had given her every time she refused to open her door. But right now…she couldn't argue. She could feel the itching spreading down to her wrists and forearms…

Hans, looking likewise disappointed and insistent, began to step forward. "If I may, my lady-"

"No, you may _not_." She sharply cut off, beginning to turn away…toward the door out of the ballroom. Her voice was breaking...becoming more emotive. She had to start moving. "Just…just leave." She began to walk. As she did, she spoke a bit louder. She might as well…for by now at least fifteen of the nobles were watching her, and more and more of them were slowing down their conversation and looking all the time. She could almost feel their eyes prying her for evidence…

"All of you." She added. "The party's over." Then, to the courtier. "…Close the gates."

_I have to get out of here… I haven't felt it so strong in weeks…months…maybe even years! Oh God…how did I never notice? I swore for thirteen years I'd never hurt her again! And this is what I…_

Suddenly, she felt her left glove slip off of her hand.

Elsa may not have felt "cold" in the traditional sense, but she felt a chill down her spine when that happened. She turned around. In addition to seeing at least half of the room focusing on her now, and the other half beginning to look rather surprised at how she had quite suddenly and abruptly ended the party and was leaving without even bidding a proper farewell…she saw Anna right behind her. She had tried to take her hand…and had ended up pulling off her glove. Her bare hand was now exposed.

Elsa looked to her…not able to fully hide the desperation in her eyes and voice. "Give me back my glove!" She audibly shouted.

Anna didn't seem to notice that. Her own face was too tense, almost on the verge of tears as she rang the glove desperately.

"Elsa…_please…_" She begged. "I can't do this! I can't live like this anymore!"

The older sister stared back at her for a long time. Her own emotion was surging and getting stronger. Her own heart was breaking to see Anna like this. And she herself…could only see darkness and gloom. She shut the gates…and she'd be locked in here again. She'd be back to her life-long solitary confinement sentence, always in her chamber, always hiding, always being forced to be this rigid, living portrait whenever she wanted to show anyone her true self… Never even able to safely look out a window… And thinking of Anna being forced to live the same way when she was so bright and full of energy…so happy…without the curse afflicting her…

She did the hardest thing she could ever recall doing.

Looking Anna straight in the eye with nearly a glare, she said two words.

"Then _leave._"

Anna let out an audible gasp at that. She actually recoiled. Elsa knew why. It had to have come out as a statement of hate and loathing…but she didn't care. Inside her rapidly swelling heart, with the itching growing, her fingertips already feeling water beginning to condense around them on her bare hand, she was screaming something else.

_Get out of here, Anna. Get away from me. Go live your life. Live _a_ life. I pray one day you'll understand…_

She couldn't stand looking at Anna's expression anymore. It was so full of hurt…betrayal…she couldn't take it. She turned away and began to walk again. There was no one left standing between her and the doors…even if, by now, every last person in the room was staring at her. Just through there she'd be home free…

As for Anna, she couldn't believe what she heard. Was that the truth? Was that why she submitted her to all of this? Did she really hate her? The way she practically spat those words at her… She'd rather disown her than change from this lifestyle? Did she love being isolated and alone so much that she'd kick her out just so she could keep living this miserable existence?

For the first time she could recall, Anna felt anger at Elsa.

Her hurt vanished and soon turned into fury.

"What did I ever do to make you hate me?!" She shouted, not caring about the scene she was making anymore.

"Anna, that's enough!" Elsa shouted back, not turning around.

"No! I want to know!" She shouted back, beginning to walk after her. "Why have you always done this?!"

The itching was almost painful now.

"Why do you shut me out?! Why won't you ever let anyone near you?!"

Elsa reached for the handle with her gloved hand…but her teeth were gritting right now. It wanted to explode out of her. Her mind was on fire. Her heart was racing…

"What are you so afraid of?! Tell me!"

Finally, the queen snapped around.

"I said… _That's enough!"_

Then…it happened.

As Elsa spun her exposed hand around, a blast of white mist erupted from it and swept around her…and immediately the carpet exploded into an arc partially surrounding her of long, slanted, three foot jagged icicles pointed out, forming almost a "palisade wall" of ice around the queen.

There was one unified gasp from the entire room as the nearest guests, Anna included, immediately pulled back from the deadly shards. Then…silence. The room had instantly dropped ten degrees in temperature. Elsa stood there…the last trace of being proper and dignified gone. Her pupils had shrank into dots. She stood like a deer exposed in light, half cringed at what she had just done. There was no mistaking this. No hiding this.

_Every last person in the room had seen it._

The silence was at last broken…but not by Anna or Elsa. It was by the twisted, hunched Duke of Weselton. He had been one of the closest to the ice, along with the two rough men that accompanied him. He looked over the ice for a moment before exhaling aloud in shock.

"Sorcery…"

Snapping his head up to Elsa, he immediately gazed at her with sharp, accusing eyes, before he slipped back and quickly seized the arms of his bodyguards, crossing them in front of him as a living shield.

"I _knew_ there was magic at work in this kingdom! She's a sorceress!"

Elsa gazed about fearfully…the noblewoman who looked older and more sophisticated a moment ago gone…as she glanced over the other nobles. Soon, it wasn't just the duke's look that turned to fear, but numerous others. Individuals started to inch back from her. Some began to raise their hands as shields. At last, she looked to Anna.

The princess stood slack-jawed at this…as everything began to click into place. Her memory remained altered from what the old troll had done thirteen years ago…but that didn't stop it all from making sense.

_Why the door was always shut… Why she never wanted to play… Why she always shut me out…_

"Elsa…" She practically exhaled, barely loud enough to hear herself, let alone the queen. It was no longer a harsh, biting, or angry tone in the least…

But Elsa couldn't hear it. In a flash, she snapped around, ripped open the door, and quickly ran out.

"Don't let her get away!" The duke immediately cried. He and his own men took off in pursuit. A few others did as well. Most, like Anna, continued to stand immobilized. She most of all as all of it continued to make sense. All of this time, she had thought her sister had somehow turned hard-hearted, that something had happened to fall out with them, or she thought she was "better" than her. But this was why she only ever talked to mom and dad… This was why she couldn't come to the funeral… She couldn't believe it. All this time…this was what she could do. This was what she was born with…

_Her birthday is on the first day of winter…_

_That means…_

"Anna?"

She turned her head slightly, shook out of her thoughts…and found Hans stepping up to her.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you going after her? Isn't she your sister?"

Anna blinked a few times, shaking out of her gaze…and realized what was happening. Elsa's secret was exposed. She was running away…

Running from _everyone_.

She nodded back, before turning and running as well. Although she had already lost some distance, as soon as she went out the door, Hans following right behind her, she began to shout.

"Elsa, wait!"

* * *

Elsa certainly wasn't feeling strong at the moment…or like anything more than a fox being chased by hounds. The truth was out. Her mind desperately tried to think of a way to hide this…to explain it…to cover it up…and came up with nothing. Everyone in that room had seen it. Her latest "ice sculpture" was on the floor and would be there for hours for all to see. There was no way to conceal it. She was exposed…

And the looks of fear in that room…even anger from the duke.

How long would it be before everyone in the kingdom looked at her the same way? Days? Hours?

Minutes?

Elsa hadn't gone for a run in the castle since she was eight, certainly not in footwear that she was wearing right now. However, fear and desperation tended to give one a skill set they didn't realize they had before now. She actually managed to fly down the stairs two at a time, her purple mantle fluttering behind her, as she managed to think a prayer of gratitude that there were no guards or servants posted in her way…although she was certain they could see her. She definitely wasn't going back to her room now… She was headed for the front doors. The gates were open. She hadn't ridden a horse in years…or even had a riding lesson in that time…but she had to try. As she reached the front doors and charged out through the threshold, she only prayed that it was as easy as her father made it look…and that she wouldn't spook one through her power…

Yet as soon as she charged out front…she received another horrible surprise.

Resounding applause.

The entire square was filled with city folk and countrymen. She had completely forgotten…the gates were indeed open, and everyone who wished was allowed entry into the inner courtyard. There was over a hundred people easy already gathered there, many with children or entire families. And as soon as she came forth, they all proclaimed her appearance, turned to her, and began to clap and cheer loudly.

Elsa didn't even bother trying to "fake" enjoying the praise. The stables were no good now. There had to be thirty people in between her and them alone. And right now…she didn't want to touch anyone. She wasn't sure what would happen… Instead, she quickly dashed down the small steps and tried to break for the front gates. Unfortunately, even as she ran down, the people only gathered in closer, wanting to get a glimpse of their new queen.

She only made it about as far as the fountain in the center of the courtyard before they got too tight to move through. In particular, one woman carrying an infant child seemed to notice her face, and stepped forward slightly, right in her path, looking to her with concern. It forced Elsa to grind to a halt.

"My lady? Are you alright?"

Elsa could only stammer in reply, and began to back up, still full of fear. She was surrounded by more people…and the itching in her hands had not diminished at all for the power she just unleashed. Now that she was scared and nervous, it felt like she was a bundle of dried kindling ready to ignite at the smallest spark. At any rate…she saw there was no way to sneak around this. And she was struggling to keep her fear in check as it was…

She didn't even notice that the temperature in the entire courtyard was dropping rather rapidly at this point…

Recoiling, she backed up from the crowds of smiling, applauding, and occasionally concerned figures, trying to find another escape route. Trying to find any way out of there… Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going…and soon ran right into the fountain in the center of the courtyard. Before she could stop herself, her bare hand instinctively touched it…

In an instant, thick ice crystals formed around her grip…but it didn't stop there. A ripple of ice and frost rapidly expanded outward from her hand. Hearing the crackling of ice freezing, Elsa gasped, spun around, and looked…but it was too late. The power she had exerted was too strong…and within moments the cold wave had spread to the water itself, turning the bottom into a sheet of ice, and the top soon rapidly froze the spray of water, turning it into a bizarre, irregular ice sculpture within seconds.

And with that came another unified gasp from everyone around her…some of them exclaiming. Once again…they had all seen it. How could it be otherwise? Everyone's eyes were on her…and she had been right in the middle of the courtyard. Elsa's heart raced. She thought before that this was bad…but now any ray of hope that she could have kept it quiet was completely dashed. Now…everyone in Arendelle was going to know the truth. And she was left stricken with horror, staring at the "splash" of ice she had made…

"There she is!"

Elsa snapped her head to the source of the voice, and found herself looking back at the front doors of the castle. Running out the front, but pausing on the first few steps, was the Duke of Weselton and his two bodyguards. There were others running behind her, although she didn't focus so much on them as the closest ones…the ones who had already seen her power.

Swallowing, she began to raise her hands defensively. Her fear was surging on seeing his hateful look along with that of the two men with him, and she felt fresh anxiety making her power flare…

"Just…stay away from me… Just…"

Before she could get out another word, a shot of white mist ripped out of her bare hand…faster than a highly taut crossbow bolt. She only had time to let out a slight gasp before it shot right into the midst of the threshold and struck the ground around the duke's feet. As a result…an icy eruption blasted forth from the point of impact that immediately coated the stairs and the threshold itself in a layer of ice. The eruption itself had force to it…as the two bodyguards were blasted aside and roughly against the frame of the threshold. As a result, they were stunned, and soon slipped on the ice and fell down. The duke himself suddenly found himself standing on the same and, coupled with the power of the blast, slipped back and landed hard on his back.

Now the gasps around Elsa had turned to exclamations of fear as the people rapidly fled from the front of the castle. Some were actually crying out. The queen was left standing helplessly, looking to her own bare hand, as the people near her immediately started to pull back.

As for the duke and the bodyguards, they began to slowly get up from the blast, still a bit stunned. However, the duke himself looked over what had just happened, and then began to stammer in a mixture of fear and fury.

"M-M-M…Monster…" Then, with renewed hate, snapped his head up to her and pointed an accusing finger. "Monster!"

Cringing, Elsa turned and looked back in front of her again. She soon saw the woman that had an infant with her had been backing off…but on seeing her look at her, she froze where she was, as if fearing an attack. She clutched her baby to her protectively, as if Elsa would suddenly strike her with something. She quickly looked around…and saw everyone else gazing at her with the same fearful look. All of them pulling away. All of them terrified…

_I can't stay here…_

Not wasting any more time, Elsa turned and bolted again, this time for the side of the courtyard. She couldn't flee through the city. There'd be more people there…more hateful, fearful eyes…more opportunities to use her power to frighten and hurt people… There was only one other escape route she knew of…

Luckily, she didn't have to worry about being stopped now. Everyone parted in her wake…

* * *

By the time Anna reached the front doors, she was just in time to see a flutter of Elsa's mantle as she tore for the side of the courtyard. The princess tried to chase after her…but was unable to get down the stairs too quickly. They had been coated with ice…and she could guess why. Hans soon arrived and quickly helped her get past the duke and his bodyguards, who were still trying to get their footing, and got onto solid ground. But by then, she looked to the side and was just in time to see Elsa's purple train moving through the door.

"Elsa! Wait! Please!" She shouted.

"Your majesty!" Hans joined in, his voice sounding a bit louder.

Assuming she could hear them, it was too late. The fabric soon vanished. Anna was forced to pull up her dress and run after her again along with the prince. Anna knew where she was going now…the posthern gate. There was no way out from there, however. Elsa had to be so desperate she was running without really thinking where she was going…and so Anna charged after her and soon turned the corner.

Along the way, she couldn't help but notice one thing.

_Sure feels chilly out tonight for July… It wasn't like that twenty minutes ago…_

At any rate, after going through a few tunnel passages, the two saw the gate opening just ahead. It had already been pried open and not shut again, meaning Elsa had to have already run through it. There were no other side paths. Anna ran right to and through it. Outside, the stone that the castle had been built on was roughly cut to form some crude stairs, and they descended only a short distance to the shore. There was a beach there, but other than that no other pathway except what led back to the front of the castle and out to the city. There was nowhere to go except back toward others.

And standing out there, on the shore, looking back anxiously and fearfully, was Elsa.

"Elsa!" Anna called out as she began to run out to her.

She saw her older sister look back for a moment and, as she did, backed up slightly. When she did, Anna soon saw another surprise. As she accidently stepped back onto the water, her shoe didn't sink inside. Instead, stepping on it created an emblem of a snowflake for a moment…before ice radiated out from her footstep. It had to be thick ice to boot, because it instantly held her foot.

Elsa turned her head down, looking like she hadn't been expecting that. She soon turned fully away, and tried stepping on the water tentatively with her other foot. The same snowflake formed, followed by ice holding her firm.

A moment later…Elsa took off in a run across the water. Each step she took instantly caused ice to radiate from under her foot, creating a path as she went. The ice quickly expanded outward from there, joining with previous bits of ice, until she created a walkway of solid ice for her to run across.

She was already a good hundred meters onto the fjord by the time Anna reached the bottom. With Hans on her heels, she rushed out to the shore, holding out her hand. "Elsa, wait! I'm sorry!"

She didn't hear her. The wind was picking up as Elsa ran along, and when it blew past Anna…she felt a rather sharp chill. Goosebumps went over her exposed shoulders…something she couldn't recall ever happening during the summer. At any rate, Elsa didn't stop. She ran full speed across the fjord, going for the far side and the country that led up into the mountains beyond…

Anna continued to run out after her. She soon made it to the shore, and made to run across it as well…when her foot instantly slipped on her first touch of the ice. To her shock, although Elsa ran across it without trouble, the surface was perfectly sheer. She would have landed hard enough to do some pain…had not Hans quickly reached out and seized her. He didn't manage to keep her from falling all together, but he managed to keep her from landing hard. Soon, he was pulled down in a crouch as well. Anna nearly rose up again…only to realize it would be useless. She couldn't possibly chase Elsa down across this frozen water in these shoes. And there was no guarantee it wouldn't collapse under her if she tried…

She was helpless to watch as Elsa's mantle fluttered behind her, and she ran almost as if the sudden cold wind was blowing behind her, or as if the ice was propelling her forward. She didn't even know she could move that fast…

However, as she watched…she soon noticed something else.

Light snow was gently beginning to fall around her.

_Wait…snow?_

As Anna looked around and exhaled…she saw her breath puffing a bit. Finally, she began to realize it. She had been so tense before she hadn't noticed…but it was colder outside than it had been when she went into the castle. _Much_ colder…too cold for summer, by far…

"Anna…look."

The princess turned to Hans, and saw as he gestured out to the water. Anna looked as well…and soon received another shock.

"The fjord…"

The thick ice radiating from Elsa's footsteps didn't stop spreading out after she ran across it…and it wasn't now either. In fact…it was getting larger and spreading more, not just in her path. It was spreading out all up and down the fjord from where the two could see it, not stopping until it hit the shore. Not only that, but it looped around into the other branch of the fjord. Anna and Hans turned to look…and saw the thick ice continue to spread all to and through the gates, then into the dock area. Bit by bit, it swept over the ships…and thick ice crystals soon condensed on the hulls of the boats before each one was locked in the same thick ice. Not only that…but the ice soon spread out far beyond the shores of Arendelle…out to the sea as far as Anna could see.

_The fjord…is frozen._

_ But…this is _seawater_. I've never seen it completely frozen in my entire life… I don't think anyone ever has…_

Yet it was unmistakable… By now, the sound of all of the seawater freezing into a couple feet thick of ice was creating the sound of large crackling through the entire countryside as the ice condensed. The temperature itself continued to drop…and probably not from the ice alone, although that no doubt had something to do with it. As Anna turned and looked out again toward Elsa…she saw she had already reached the other side of the shore. For a moment, she saw her running out onto the coast and into the tree line, never looking back…and then vanished into the forest.

Anna could see no more…even if snow wasn't beginning to fall harder…

* * *

Five minutes later, as Anna and Hans returned to the courtyard, she was definitely getting cold. Her breath was steadily coming out as white puffs, as was everyone else's. She had some defense against the wind in here, but wearing such a revealing dress made her wrap her arms around herself. Hans' own clothes were designed for summer, and he had turned up his collar as he did much the same. By now, the snow was falling steadily enough to start accumulating in white patches. Naturally, everyone who had gathered in the square, which consisted of both citizens and nobles alike, many of whom were being told at the moment that their ships were now icelocked, were full of a mixture of confusion and fear as they looked about.

"Snow? In summer?"

"In July?"

"The harbor's completely frozen! Nothing but ice!"

"It's getting so cold out…"

As Anna and Hans made their way back to the frozen fountain, however, one person in particular drew the princess' attention. She saw the form of the duke standing out in the midst of the courtyard, with his two bodyguards again, and looking around nervously. A moment later, he gave a loud yell to everyone around.

"It's witchcraft! The queen has cursed us all!"

At once, Anna advanced forward and shouted back. "No! It's not like that!"

On hearing the new voice, the townspeople and nobles alike all turned to Anna, realizing the princess of Arendelle was among them now. The duke likewise turned…and immediately gave her the same dark look he had given Elsa earlier.

"You!" He sneered…before immediately retreating behind his bodyguards again, pulling them to become a shield once more. "Are you in cahouts with that monster? Is there sorcery in you too?"

Anna was a bit stunned at this answer. After all, unlike her older sister, she didn't quite grasp the duke's nature so readily… However, she immediately shook her head. "Wha…no! I didn't know anything about this! I'm…I'm, well…normal!"

Hans immediately moved up behind her and stood straight. "That's right. She's completely normal."

Anna turned slightly to him at that. He gave a sheepish smile.

"…I mean that in the best possible way."

In spite of the situation, Anna gave him a half smile of her own before turning back to the duke. "And my sister's _not_ a monster!"

"She nearly killed me!" The duke snapped.

"You slipped." Hans answered simply.

"It was an accident." Anna reaffirmed.

"Look what she's done to everything!" The duke shot back. "She's trapped us all here!"

The princess held for a split second, but then her face fell as she responded. "…It was all my fault."

Both the duke and Hans looked to her at this, as did many of the surrounding people.

"Anna…" The prince began to say.

"I drove her to this. I never knew she was hiding all of this the entire time…" She answered regretfully, bowing her head again as she thought about their argument. She realized now what she meant with that statement…not hate or anger…but trying to spare her from all of this…trying to keep her from the life that she had been forced to live… "I'm the one who made her lose control."

Hans shook his head in response. "Anna, you can't blame yourself for all this…"

The duke huffed in response, seeming to ignore the entire exchange. "That doesn't excuse what happened here! Someone has to go after her!"

"No!" Anna suddenly shot back, turning her head upward. The duke, Hans, and everyone else again looked to her. But before anyone could protest anything, she inhaled sharply, and then spoke more plainly.

"_I _have to go after her."

Hans went a bit wide-eyed on hearing this. So did the castle staff and any of the townspeople within earshot, as well as a few more of the nobles who had come out and paid attention to this. However, she continued.

"I'm the one who pushed her to this…I should be the one to bring her back. I'll find her and talk to her…and I'll get her to stop this." Immediately, she looked about to the nearest servant and called out to him. "Bring my horse."

The man nodded, and turned and bolted for the stables. Not only him, but another servant immediately ran back inside to fetch something else. Hans, however, stepped closer to Anna as she made for the direction of the stables herself to hurry up and mount as quickly as possible.

"Let me come with you."

"No." The princess immediately responded, giving him a look of faith and endearment. "I need you to stay here and take care of Arendelle." She cast a quick glance around. Hans did the same, and soon noted that she was looking at the duke and the other nobles that seemed more nervous or frightened, as well as some of the more panicking townspeople. She looked back to him a moment later. "Keep things calm and in order until I get back."

Hans hesitated for a moment, looking more intent on going. However, on following her gaze and looking about, he drew himself up and crossed his hand before him. "On my honor."

Anna managed a smile back on hearing that. Frankly…he was the only one of the nobles she felt she could trust at a time like this. He was the only one who hadn't panicked and had run out after Elsa with her. Besides, if she was going to marry him, this should have been something easy, right?

Soon after, the stablemaster returned in place of the servant, bringing her fjord horse with her. A bit more "odd looking" compared to the horse that Hans had rode, most people would have mistaken the horse to be overweight at first glance. However, it was a more special breed for this region of the world. Anna, on her part, hoped it wouldn't take _too_ long to find Elsa…but the fact of the matter was she had only ever had riding lessons in the courtyard and didn't know the slightest thing about the lay of the land outside. Only that in the time it took to get over to the opposite side of the fjord on horseback, Elsa would have a good two hour head start at minimum…

In addition, the second servant returned, this time bringing the cape that went with her dress in case it was worn during the winter. She hadn't thought she would need it…but right now, with her skin visibly showing bumps and almost to the point of shivering, she was more than happy when the servant helped her put it on and she let it hang over her forearms. She felt even better when Hans offered her his hand into helping her up onto the horse and seated against its warm body. Once there, she looked up and around. By now, everyone had seen she was getting ready to depart. With Elsa gone, they all were looking to her instinctively as the princess.

"I'm leaving Prince Hans of the Southern Isles in charge as steward while I am away." She proclaimed. "Please give him whatever assistance he requires."

Hans paused only a moment to look about, so that the people could see his face and recognize him as the one named, but then looked back to Anna.

"Are you sure about going alone? It may not be safe…"

Anna managed to give him a small smile and a shrug. "She's my sister. She would never hurt me."

Hans said no more, but paused for a moment before nodding and stepping back. Once that was done, the rest of the people parted, and Anna gave a snap of the reins. Soon after, the horse took off through the secondary gate, the one closer to the countryside, and in no time Anna had passed under the threshold and was running out along the bridge.

The snow continued to fall…slowly building in strength…

* * *

_To be continued..._


	6. Chapter 5 - The Snow Queen and the Mo

_Chapter 5 – "The Snow Queen and the Mountain Man"_

* * *

Elsa could barely recall how she had gotten here. The journey should have exhausted her…but she seemed nearly tireless. She wasn't sure if it was from fear or from some force pushing her on…but somehow, after running all night, she found herself in this place.

She was many miles from Arendelle's castle and city now. She hadn't looked back once the whole time, fearful that people would be after her…chasing her…hating her… She could still hear the vile words ringing in her ears…calling her a "monster"… She could still see the looks of fear on everyone's faces. How they all recoiled from her…how they reacted to her with nothing but terror as if she was a demon… It was just as she always feared. Just as she had seen in that vision thirteen years ago… And so she ran. Ran as far as she could…away from people…away from civilization…away from roads and paths with power and stamina she didn't know she had…going faster and farther than anyone could travel on foot…

And here was where she found herself.

She was standing on the most isolated place in the whole of Arendelle at the moment: the North Mountain. All around her for miles was nothing but rocky, icy peaks…eternally covered with snow, summer or winter. She stood on the highest one, however. Not quite at the summit, for that was impossible. She wasn't a mountain climber, and the peak itself was rocky and sharp, inaccessible without the proper tools or experience. She was on a flatter region. Just ahead of her, a deep, dark chasm loomed as a crag within the peak of the North Mountain, going down for hundreds and hundreds of feet. On the other side of it was another flat area, but there was no way for Elsa to get there. She stayed at her current location, as the slope of the mountain evened out into flat ground. It was silent up here…with no sound except the occasional breeze of icy wind. The sky was clear and filled with stars…but also getting just a tint of light on the horizon. Dawn would be coming soon…

Not that Elsa truly cared.

Her ankles had sunk into the snow that covered the mountain at this point. The wind whipping by had to be below zero in terms of temperature. However, she didn't feel a thing from any of it. That was part of the reason she came up this way. No one would ever be mad enough to climb the North Mountain. It was too cold and the air too thin. Therefore…she knew she was safe here. Safe from anyone chasing her…or seeing her true nature. However, that was cold comfort at the moment.

Everyone knew the truth now. At this point, word had to have spread through all of Arendelle and to all the nobles. They all knew her power…what she was. They knew the danger she could present to people. She hadn't even meant to attack the duke and his men…but she could have killed them. And the ice she summoned… If her spikes had been a bit longer, she might have hit Anna…

This was all that was left to her now…this icy waste. Far away from anyone else…far away from anyone she could hurt…and far away from anyone who could hurt her. Nothing but quiet, solitude…and nothingness. Just the howling wind, the lifeless mountains, and miles of ice and snow…

As she looked around at the frozen peaks, and her mantle fluttered in the wind, she held her hands together and gave out a slow exhale…bowing her head.

_This is my "kingdom" now… This is the only thing I'll be queen over… A nation of ice and a population of one. Everything I feared…everything I was scared would one day happened…it all happened. I tried my best to hold it back…to keep it in…but I couldn't. Thirteen years of self-discipline, self-restraint…gone in one day. Now I'm a monster…a witch…_

_ In the end…it wasn't enough… After thirteen years of "conceal, don't feel"…thirteen years of being the perfect noblewoman…thirteen years of keeping myself hidden, restraining every feeling I had, struggling night and day to control it and hide it from everyone…all it took was one night to lose everything. Now I'll never be welcome among people again. Now I'll spend the rest of my life apart from everyone…alone…isolated…_

Elsa bowed her head and continued to wring her hands together. The wind continued to whip around her as she closed her eyes, thinking about what would happen from now on…how she'd never be able to see anyone again…how she'd never attend any party or gathering ever again…how she'd spend the rest of her life alone and in hiding…

Yet as she thought of that…something she hadn't considered before came to her.

_…How exactly is this different from how I've been living up until now?_

_ I was _always_ isolated. I was always hiding from people. I was always alone. I always had to hide my secret from everyone…stay shut up in my room…constantly live in fear that it would one day come out and that everyone would know the truth about me…worry every day and night that someone would learn of my power or that I'd hurt someone with it… I always had to restrain myself… I always had to be the "good girl"…never able to speak my mind…never able to "feel"…never able to do anything except hold back, all so that no one would ever see my power or know what I truly was…_

Elsa thought about that for a moment.

_…So what has changed?_

Then, a new realization came to her.

_Plenty. _

_ I may be isolated…I may be alone…but now everyone knows the truth. Now it's out. And now…I'm far away from anyone I can hurt or who will be scared by it or hate me for it. No more people looking over my shoulder. No more nobles expecting me to be a perfect queen. No more constant fear and dread that my power will get loose…and that someone will see it… Which means…_

_ …I don't have to hold it back any longer._

In spite of the situation, in spite of all that had gone wrong…Elsa realized that this dark cloud over her life had an advantage. Now that the secret was out…now that she was far from everyone…she was free. As much as her power scared her and as much as she didn't want to hurt anyone, it was part of her…a part she had been forced to deny for a very, very long time. A part she had been forced to deny and repress…and to feel, continuously, the pressure inside of her of an inner desire to use it but never able to…

With that in mind, Elsa looked to her hands again. One exposed…one still gloved.

_I always hated those gloves anyway…_

Her free hand soon grasped the other, pulled it off…and then merely tossed it into the sky. Soon, the icy wind took it and bore it away. She didn't need to wear it now…or ever again. With that done, she did something she hadn't done in many years…

She made a gesture with her hand…and a plume of white mist immediately streamed from it, condensing into a swirl of beautiful snowflakes that spun around in the air for a moment before the wind blew away. It was only small…but it felt _great_. She hadn't willingly used her power in thirteen years, and just that small gesture made her heart suddenly feel lighter…as she felt some of her self-imposed internal "bonds" were loosened…some of her true self was able to come out… She couldn't help it…she actually smiled. As dangerous as it had been, and as much as she feared hurting others with it…the truth was she felt such joy just from using her power. And now…she felt that joy returning…a feeling she had been denied for far too long.

She soon made another gesture with her other hand. Soon, another icy cloud of flakes appeared and were borne off on the wind…and her heart felt lighter than before. She felt a bit more joy…a bit more happiness… She made a few more gestures afterward, creating the little plumes here and there…but eventually that became "too small". She put both hands together and gestured to the right…creating a much larger drift of snow, sweeping against the ground and making a small dune. She gestured the other way afterward…making one a bit bigger. She nearly laughed. She forgot how much she had enjoyed this…and now she was free to enjoy it as much as she wanted…

_But I did all of this as a child…and my power has only grown since then…_

_ What else can I do?_

Elsa thought for a moment. She could make light snowfalls and icy floors in the past…but she felt, in spite of being out of practice, that her power was not only stronger…but more defined. She wanted to try something bigger…something stronger…something new. But what?

She thought for a moment…and then a memory came to her. The last memory she had when she still used her power freely…

_A snowman…_

With that in mind, Elsa made another gesture, sweeping her hand around. Responding to her gesture and her thoughts perfectly…much to the queen's delight, the snow on the ground was drawn together, spun around, and condensed…perfectly in the way Elsa remembered it from a child. The same oblong head…the two section body…the right shape with that same protruding tooth… To her delight, with only a thought and a gesture, she perfectly made the same snowman that she and Anna had built all of those years ago.

_I can make distinct objects out of snow now… _She thought, smiling a bit more. Not only that, she felt happier…freer…like more of her restraints had been released. However…there were still more. A lot more. And now that her power had come out a bit…it was eager to _really_ come out. The snowman, she realized, was only the merest hint of the power she had gained…

With that in mind, Elsa, feeling more excited…even happy for a change…reached for her neck and unfastened her mantle. After that happened, she let the wind bear it away. It wasn't like she needed it, after all. She didn't feel cold…and it wasn't like she was going to be queen of Arendelle now… Besides…it felt restrictive, and right now…she was feeling freer by the second. In fact, the more she used her power and let it loose…the more at ease she felt. Her restraints and emotional control were slowly breaking down. Her emotions were beginning to come out freely again. Not only that…but the fact that she could use her power without restraint here was making her feel better than ever. Perhaps what had happened was a blessing in disguise…now that she could be herself without fear. In fact…the more time passed…the more her old fears that made her control herself…tie herself back in every way to be someone fake and artificial…seemed so silly…and so unwanted. None of them felt like worth her concern anymore…

With that in mind, she moved on toward the chasm. To her surprise…she was still smiling, and almost skipping in her step. Inside her, the power she had contained felt good…but wanted more release. And frankly…she wanted to release more. She wanted to see what she could _really_ do…

She soon reached the edge of the chasm. It was a sheer drop, and almost a hundred feet across. No way to cross it normally… She'd need some stairs. With that in mind, she made a gesture with her hand, keeping in mind what she wanted… In response, white mist shot from her hands, and soon formed the base of an elegant staircase fit for royalty…made purely of frost and snow. About five steps in all before stopping.

Elsa came up to it and looked it over. It looked nice enough to be sure… It was exactly what she had envisioned…and elegant staircase she had imagined. However…it was only snow and frost. It certainly wouldn't be able to hold anyone's weight… It was crude at the moment, like a snow sculpture. It needed to be more…stronger…

Feeling more power swell inside of her, she got an idea. She concentrated once again, thinking about what she wanted, and then reached out with her foot and slammed it down on the first step. Normally, it would have broken right through the frost and snow…but that wasn't what she desired. Instead, much to her delight, a bit of her power erupted from her point of impact…and wherever it radiated, the snow and frost turned into pure, perfect, solid ice…flawless and shimmering beautifully. It held her just like a solid step would…and she was delighted. Until now, she could only cover surfaces with ice…but now she realized she could make things out of it.

With that in mind, she put her hands on the frost rails…instantly turning them into the same flawless ice. Following that, she began to run up the stairs. She did so without fear. Instantly, with a mere desire from her, the frost and snow became beautiful ice, and as she ran along, the staircase formed in her wake, as easily as crossing the fjord had earlier. And it wasn't snow this time, but all the same perfect ice. It gleamed like a piece of perfect diamond, having just a hint of blue tint to it. She felt not the slightest fear running over the chasm. Her staircase of ice held perfectly and formed instantly. Her heart surged more as she released more of her power…feeling more alive than ever…

But she was just getting started…

As soon as the staircase completed, ended by forming a small platform for her to run off of and onto the snowfield behind, Elsa ran a short distance to the middle of this flat expanse. Far more even…better for a foundation…

_If I'm going to be a "snow queen"…I should have a palace…_

With that in mind, she let both her imagination and her power flow as she slammed her foot down again. For the first time in ages…a snowflake erupted from her point of impact…but larger this time. As a child, it had only been a few feet across. Now, it spanned a much farther distance….and soon had a result.

A massive platform of solid, perfect ice instantly formed beneath her, and in moments had thickened into a perfect disk like a floor. However, after doing so, equally perfect columns of ice began to rise from the snow, pushing the platform up along with her on it. It continued to rise for over a hundred feet before another disk of ice formed, emblazoned with the same snowflake, before joining up with the existing stairs.

After that, Elsa put her hands out and curled them up, making a motion to rise. In response, walls and buttresses erupted from the ground and began to rise into the sky as well, instantly joining with the initial foundation of the palace around her, fusing to it in support with a lovely "sloping" look. Arches formed up around to join with the upper platform, and rose where Elsa was to form a joining "ring" overhead.

With that done, she began to walk about on the ice floor, gesturing here and there to fill in the space between the arches with proper walls. She raised her hands overhead, and soon closed up the top of the palace at the ring. While a steeple formed overhead, a splendid chandelier, made of what looked like layered, giant snowflakes, descended and illuminated in a soft blue glow, giving the entire upper floor an icy blue light.

She stopped at this point. There were more details to add…but they could wait a little longer. She was just enjoying what she had done. All around her was the most beautiful palace she had ever dreamed of…and she had created it in less than a minute with only a few gestures. She didn't even feel tired! On the contrary…she felt more alive and free than she could recall. More wonderful than she could imagine…like her soul was finally unchained along with her power… Even the pain of her rejection and isolation seemed to be nothing, at least for now, compared to the joy she was feeling…

But…she felt something else at the moment…

Her tiara.

Elsa reached up and grasped it. Somehow, it had stayed there the whole time. Yet it didn't feel "good"…and it never had. As she pulled it off and looked to it, she stared for a brief second at the crown… This was the symbol of her former life. The Queen of Arendelle. The heir of her father. The one who would continue to royal line and keep bringing prosperity to Arendelle… To be honest…a part of her still wanted that…

But she didn't want what "went with it". She didn't want the emotional restraint. She didn't want the hiding of her true nature. She didn't want to be locked in her room…to be told that a proper lady should be seen and not heard…to just be some figure for everyone to clap for and admire before trying to push her around or impress their will on her because she was the first female ruler of Arendelle… If they didn't want her for the "real her", then she didn't want them either.

She grasped the tiara a bit more tightly, before actually narrowing her gaze and grinning more fiercely, more "dangerously", before she simply flung it away into one of her new frozen passages and forgot it.

_Only one thing left…_ She said as she felt a hundred pounds lighter.

_…I always _hated_ this look._

With the same look on her face, she reached up and seized her tight, perfect braid and pulled at it. Soon, the braid was loose and dangled over one shoulder, and the hair around the front of her scalp came loose and splayed out. She quickly ran her hands through it again and swept it back, scattering trace amounts of her power through it to freeze them into strands and give them "volume", ending up with her hair looking more casual and "swept back" over her head. As for her braid, she let it loosen a bit before her power created small pins of ice in the shape of snowflakes. The end result was that it hung over her left shoulder, something far more loose and casual than her former rigid style. However…her hair was only part of it.

Raising her hands a bit higher and making a few gestures, a "sheath" of ice and snow began to rise and spread itself over her current attire. With a mere thought and finger movement, the ice and snow moved over her dress and began to work at it with what seemed like hundreds…thousands of tiny knives, slicing it up into pieces so small they seemed to disintegrate. But even as each piece left…a new piece replaced it, made of a tiny ice crystal too small to see. Slowly, it swept up around her…in mere moments replacing her entire lower dress with one made of icy blue.

To anyone else, a dress made of ice would be impossible…nothing more than a pretty ice sculpture. Not to Elsa, however. It seemed to respond to her desire perfectly. Not only did it refract the light perfectly to still keep her body "concealed", but each tiny piece moved perfectly independently of one another, instantly freezing and unfreezing with all surrounding pieces. The end effect was that it bore the look and nature of fine, shimmering, blue fabric, with a natural sparkle no less.

Elsa continued to bring it up until she reached just over her breasts. From there, however, she simply removed the rest of her older dress, leaving her in a light blue slip. Still, she wasn't finished there. As she began to walk, she let her power go over her shoulders and arms to make a new mantle. This time, it formed a train behind her as well as from her arms, draping long and behind her. This fabric was thinner and more white-silvery, transparent and embroidered with snowflakes, shimmering like a snowy shower…

She looked over to the perfect ice floor beneath her and saw her new "look" staring back…and was well pleased. A proper "snow queen" now. Not too revealing…and not some lifeless doll either. More the way she always wanted to be. As she stared, however, a light began to shine before her. She looked up…and saw, through one of her openings on the second floor, something was coming…the break of dawn.

Immediately, she moved out to it, her long dress gently gliding along the floor, out the opening, and to a new "balcony". From here, she had the most marvelous view imaginable…infinitely better than the few windows from the castle in Arendelle. She could see the frozen mountaintops for miles and miles around, and could see the same beautiful staircase leading across the chasm she had taken to get here below. And now...now that the sun was rising over the tops of the mountains, she could also behold the palace she had made…how beautiful and perfect it looked, nestled right against the North Mountain peak, the highest spire nearly reaching the top of the mountain. The sun hitting it made it sparkle as if it was made of blue crystal… Anyone else would have found this place freezing and uninhabitable…but Elsa found it wonderful, not the least bit cold and able to appreciate it for all of its beauty and wonder…made by her own hand in less than five minutes…

Smiling in satisfaction, Elsa took her train and swept it back around her as she turned back into her palace, instantly creating a pair of thick ice doors behind her that slammed shut.

* * *

_I really. Hate. Winter._

It was a good thing Anna had some measure of natural "cold tolerance". That said, she was still a mortal. And she had been out all night and well into the next day. And all while the temperature continued to drop…

If it wasn't for the length of days, one could hardly mistake it for summer right now. The world had changed drastically. By now, there was a good two feet of snow covering the ground. It didn't even make sense. The snowfall that had come down had either been gentle or non-existent. In fact, the sky had been clear most of the night, including when it had been snowing earlier. The snow just seemed to "form" on the ground. However, the temperature was more than real enough. Her breath had only come out in bigger and bigger white puffs…and she found herself progressively leaning closer and closer on her horse for warmth.

She wasn't exactly in the best setting herself at the moment. She had gone around the fjord, and by then there was enough snow on the ground to have obscured any path Elsa might have taken. She continued to search from there, going deeper into the forest…and found nothing but more snow and trees growing progressively more and more weighed down from hundreds of pounds of white powder. There was little denying at this point that they had fully slipped into winter conditions and not just a sudden chill or frozen fjord. In fact…Arendelle had never seen wintry conditions like this in recorded history… It usually didn't get this bad unless one went hundreds of miles north…at least as far as Anna knew. She soon realized as time went on that she really didn't have a good grasp of the area. In fact, as she wandered farther and farther…she noticed the entire forest had grown thick around her, and she wasn't really sure where she was going…or where she had come from.

_Ok…being lost out in the worst winter conditions in history without food, shelter…or even a thick coat and a pair of boots… Great…_ She thought. She began to realize that this was taking much longer than she had hoped…and that it might have been a good idea to plan for what could have happened if she couldn't have found her right away.

Deciding to try again, Anna cupped her hand to her mouth.

"Elsa? Are you out there?"

All she heard was her voice echoing through the snow-covered forest.

"It's Anna! Your sister! You know? The one who didn't mean to make you f-f-freeze everything…"

She soon grimaced as she gave a shudder. Her voice was starting to stammer…and she was definitely shivering at this point. And as far as she knew, she was miles from Arendelle…or any other house, for that matter. Not like she could go back at this point even if she knew where it was…not without Elsa and having failed…

Then again…she hadn't intended to be wandering outside in the "dead of winter" in the middle of summer…

_And, of course, none of this would have happened if she had just been honest with me in the first place… Heh…she's such a "kidder"…yeah… But honestly, she couldn't just tell me this? Why did she hide it for so long? She couldn't have just told me the truth? Did she honestly think I'd hate her? I mean…sure I was shocked along with everyone else, but…I would have understood! You're my sister for crying out…_

Anna's thoughts were suddenly cut off when one of the larger piles of snow on a tree branch right in her path suddenly weighed it down to the point of breaking. With a large snapping sound, and a following "whump", the entire branch fell down in front of her horse.

Instantly, the animal gave a panicked whinny, and reared up and backward with sudden violence. Anna barely had time to cry out in alarm before she found herself flung backward and right underneath a pine that had been so weighed down by the snowfall that it had fallen over into an arch. She landed and immediately sunk partially into the thick powder, only the act of packing it down keeping her from sinking up to her neck in it. As it was, the snow spared her a great deal of pain. She recovered a moment later…just in time to see something a bit more distressing…

Her horse, now riderless, had turned and was bolting for it.

"Oh no…" She moaned, before reaching out. "No, no! Wait!"

It was too late. Assuming the horse would have listened to her, it was too spooked and out of earshot. In moments, it vanished into the forest…and soon the hoofbeats died, leaving Anna completely surrounded by silence…and cold.

Giving a shudder, since now she was lying in a pile of snow and away from the warm back of her mount, she began to draw her arms inward and under her cape a bit.

"Oh…k-k-kay…" She said with another tremble. _So now…I lost my last source of warmth plus my horse… No problem…_ She thought as she reached up to the tree, grabbing on to try and get herself up. _I can do this on foot…sure…no problem…I'm a tough girl who loves a hike in the-_

Abruptly, the tree snapped up…and proceeded to dump a good fifty pounds of snow right on top of Anna's head, burying everything except her arms.

* * *

By the time night had fallen, the only thing that wasn't keeping Anna fearful for her ability to possibly live through that evening without collapsing from hypothermia, let alone finding Elsa, was her naitivity. She was shivering all over by now, and not surprisingly. She was wearing only a summer ball gown with heels and a dress cape that was only meant to take her between a coach and a castle, not go out for close to 24 hours roaming through a wintry landscape. Not to mention it was beginning to coat with frost at this point, and if she hadn't been wandering through the woods most of the day, she'd find a similar coating of frost on her eyebrows, hair, and eyelashes from the wind… The woods had protected her from most of the frost and gale…but where snow had fallen into her dress earlier had long since melted and was now giving her a rather bigger chill. On top of all that…she was still wearing heels and sinking into snow with each step… Even stopping every time she could to try and dust her legs off to keep from getting frostbite…she realized she was in trouble.

She was lost in a forest, surrounded by snow and freezing temperatures, and essentially meeting the definition of every person ever who wasn't found until next spring, at which point they would either be a frozen corpse or a half-eaten one…

Desperate to keep herself going…for she realized by now in addition to getting cold she was getting tired…she began to speak to herself.

"It just had to be _snow_, didn't it…" She said with another tremble, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "She couldn't have power over…I don't know…tropics… Cover everything with warm beaches and…"

She trailed off again…finally seeing something welcome.

By now, Anna had hiked to the top of a hill. She tried to stay on those, in fact, as the snow was thinner there and less prone to covering her feet. However, from here, she was able to see over a number of trees in the forest…and saw the most welcome sight she had seen in hours…a plume of smoke rising in the air.

"Fire!" She exclaimed in joy.

And her joy evaporated again a moment later when the ground beneath her suddenly gave way. Whether the snow "broke" or she was standing on a log that rolled, she suddenly found herself slipping onto her rear and shooting down the hillside. If that wasn't enough, a passing tree branch tore off her cape as she tumbled down, leaving her with absolutely no protection for her arms and shoulders. Perhaps it would have been nice if she was on a sled…but sliding down the hill on a dress that soon sent snow flying up her undergarments was neither fun nor comfortable…

Yet that was a rather minor inconvenience compared to what happened she finally finished rolling to the bottom of the hill…and right into a non-frozen, few-inch-deep stream. Within moments, she found herself stopped in it, and the lukewarm water slowly soaking completely through her dress and undergarments.

Letting out a bit of a nervous whine, Anna looked forward and immediately began to get out of the water…the cold air instantly going to work freezing it. Now shivering harder than ever and probably no more than a minute or two from frostbite, she looked to see the source of the fire just ahead. The stream seemed to be coming from a large cabin with a snow-covered, practically buried, barn nearby. However, the cabin itself was well and warmly lit through the frost-coated windows and a chimney belching the smoke.

Right now, Anna didn't really care if the cabin was the home of serial killers, although she thought she could see a sign hanging that was covered with snow…and a smaller one likewise covered hanging from the first. She was so cold at this point that she just wanted to get somewhere warm for five minutes… And so she began to make her way over to it. She would have run if she could, but within only a few seconds of getting out of the water her dress was frozen in a cup-shape and her undergarments felt like pieces of ice. She could barely waddle over to the door…although she felt the strong temptation to simply tear off all underclothes to get rid of the wet coldness…

After what seemed like a freezing eternity, she reached the steps and began to crawl up them. She managed to reach out a hand and knock the sign, making sure to stand clear as the snow fell off. The last thing she wanted was another "icy bath". Lettering was soon revealed.

_Wandering Oaken's Trading Post_

A moment later, and the snow fell off the smaller sign as well, showing something that seemed far more promising.

_And Sauna_

_That's really, _really_ tempting right now…but I can't stay long._

She soon moved forward and stepped inside. A doorbell went off and a blast of warm air washed over her as soon as she stepped into the lamp-lit store, and she let out a shudder as the difference in temperature caused a cold wind to blow over her exposed body. She immediately shut the door and let out another powerful shudder as she was bathed in the warmth. She hadn't realized how cold her skin had become. She felt chill all over, like none of the blood was still rushing to her skin. Raising her arms she began to vigorously rub them…

"Yoo-hoo!"

Hearing a voice, Anna turned her head. Standing behind a counter was a very broad-shouldered man in a sweater, suspenders, a hat, and topped with a red beard. He grinned from ear-to-ear staring at her, looking overly happy and friendly to her. It was honestly a little unsettling. At any rate, he sat in front of a wall of what she assumed was the more expensive goods…as well as a few other things that would have been more in place if it had been 24 hours ago, but right now seemed like sheer insanity.

He soon held his palms up and made "jazz hands" in a feeble attempt to look "exciting", before speaking in a thicker accent that seemed more of the Swedish side.

"Beeg summer blowout! Half-off sweemeeng soots, umbrellas, and a spehcial suntan lowtion of mahy own creation!"

Anna stared back blankly for a moment or two. _…He can't be serious. He's wearing a sweater so he _has_ to know what it's like outside… _At any rate, she tried to be friendly. She could at least afford that…especially since she realized it might have been a good thing she ended up here of all places. Fortunately, against the desire of the tailors, when her party dress was commissioned she made them sew a pocket into the flip side. She figured, being her only time out in Arendelle's city in thirteen years, there would be something she wanted to buy while she was there, and she had made sure to load it with a sizeable amount from the castle treasury before she left to make sure she wouldn't have to go back for more.

"Oh…um…that's nice." She answered who she assumed was "Wandering Oaken" after recovering. "But…I was thinking more along the lines of…boots. Winter boots? And winter dresses?"

The man turned slightly and gestured. "I suggest yoo try our vinter depahrtmehnt."

Anna followed his hand.

Against one wall was a mattock, a piece of rope, a set of snowshoes way too big for her feet…one of which seemed to pick that very moment to fall off the wall…and a single folded-up dress and set of boots. That seemed to be the entirety of the "winter department".

The princess nearly blanched. But then she realized at this point she'd have settled for only a dry pair of underwear, and she was still quite cold as her clothing began to melt. She only hoped there was a changing room in here… She soon moved over to that section of the wall and reached out and took the clothes right away. After a moment's hesitation…she took the boots as well, praying they fit. Almost anything would be better than going around in her ball slippers, but since she was still on foot, she wasn't eager to start having her feet be crushed within a set of boots…especially since, on looking at her acquisitions, they seemed to be made more for being "fashionable" and "cute" as opposed to "mountain expedition". But seeing as they were wool and better than her cape and her current attire, she wasn't about to complain. Besides…it looked as if she might have lucked out and the boots might actually fit…

"By the way…" She said as she took the things back up to the counter. "I don't suppose…I dunno…that you happened to see a woman come by this way? Someone who may have…oh…looked like a queen?"

"Ohnly one crazy eenough to be out in tis weather ees yoo, dear." Oaken politely answered as Anna came back to the counter and set the things down…right before the bell to the door went off again. As the door swung open wide, Anna again cringed as an icy wind blew into the store, before turning her head along with the store owner to see who had come in.

She was just in time to hear a rather gruff grunt as a man thickly dressed in multiple gray layers…as well as snow and frost from the top of his hat to the bottom of his boots, stamped his feet to clear them with snow, not caring that he was doing so on the bare floor, and shook off a bit of the excess snow around him. As bad as Anna thought she had had it until now…this man looked as if he had been walking somewhere even colder, and storming to boot. She was actually a bit aghast.

"Yoo and tis fellow." Oaken corrected a moment later, before turning fully to him. "Yoo-hoo! Beeg summer blowout!" He said, holding up a bottle of suntan lotion for effect.

The man looked thoroughly unimpressed and uncaring. However, Anna grew nervous a moment later as, with a tired and rather gruff look…as least, as gruff as one could be when their nose and mouth was hidden behind a snow-covered scarf…began to move up to the counter. Each footstep he took let out a heavy thud that shook the shelves and resounded throughout the entire trading post. Yet what really made her tense was that he appeared to be headed right for her…

Anna quickly averted her eyes a bit and backed up a step. However, the man kept coming. She backed up further, trying not to look at him and seem casual, all the way until she hit the counter and even hunched over it. In spite of that…the man kept coming. Soon, she felt a fresh wave of cold over her as the frost on his body came near. She heard his heaving breath from strain, and could almost feel him hanging over her. As she glanced partially at him from time to time, not sure what he was doing…she soon saw that his eyes were not friendly in the least, and almost narrowed at her through frost-coated eyelashes and brows still in the process of thawing. If that wasn't enough…he didn't smell too good. He stank heavily of some odd animal from a stable, and that he didn't take nearly enough baths. Hence, there were also aromas of sweat and what had to be animal fat he had used to light lamps at some point, and Anna had to suppress the urge to let out a gag.

"Er…uh…um…" She stammered, trying to say something while still looking away from him. "I, uh…"

"…Carrots."

Anna turned to him in confusion. It wasn't just because the one word he said was so unusual and unexpected…but that the voice that said it was rather young-sounding. Definitely not an old, grizzled, mountain man like she had expected. To tell the truth, she really couldn't make out many of his features between his clothing and the frost. Even his hair color poking out from under his hat had become white. Yet he sounded amazing young…younger than Elsa easily, in spite of being so powerfully built…

Still, the word had been spoken rather roughly, and wasn't terrible friendly.

"Um…I don't…"

_"Behind you."_ The mountain man stated in a more annoyed voice than before.

She looked around…and, sure enough, she had failed to notice that vegetables and fruits were on the shelves underneath the counter. Grimacing a bit, she formed a sheepish smile before sliding to one side. Before she could voice a word of apology, and while she was still moving, the gruff man pushed by her, seized the one bunch of carrots on the shelf without so much as an "excuse me", and then turned away from her and made straight for the "winter department". Anna suppressed a frown, but began to go back at ease again to move back in front of the store proprietor.

"Reel howhler een Jooly, yes?" Oaken asked the new arrival, trying to be friendly. "Where do yoo soopose eet's coming from?"

"The North Mountain." The man instantly answered as he took up the rope and the ice axe.

Anna snapped to him on hearing that. "The North Mountain?" She echoed. "Are you sure?"

"I just came from there." He dully answered as he returned to the counter, once again pushing Anna aside, and this time her own purchases as well, before setting the rope, the axe, and the carrots down. Normally, she would have been annoyed at this point…but considering what she just heard and that she finally had a "lead", she wasn't too hung up on it.

"That will be forty." Oaken stated cheerfully.

The gruff look in the eyes was replaced by one of surprise. "What? Forty?! All I've got is ten!"

"Oh…ten ees no guud…" The proprietor answered at once with a slight frown. "Yoo see…tis ees from our vinter stock…and right now, we have a beet of a 'sooply and demand' problem…"

Letting out a groan, the man reached up for his scarf and pulled it down, revealing his face at last. It was indeed young…not much older than Anna's, to be exact…although it was rough from having spent a lot of time outdoors. Also…removing the scarf increased his stench a bit more…

"Don't talk to me about 'supply and demand'. I sell _ice_ for a living."

He gestured to the window. Anna looked outside in response. Sure enough, there was a sleigh parked out front, loaded up in the back with blocks of ice.

She snickered a bit. "Heh, yeah…that's a _really_ bad business to be in right now…"

The man turned to her and gave her a look that would peel paint.

Swallowing a bit, Anna quieted down. "Uh…sorry…"

"Steell forty!" Oaken cheerfully responded. "But…I vill throw een a free trip to the sauna!" He turned slightly to the back of the room and gave a wave. "Hi, family!"

Anna gave a look, and was just in time to see about six people of assorted ages and genders in towels peek in through a glass window in a wooden door in the back, all waving back and saying: "Yoo-hoo!"

The mountain man sighed with a tinge of hopelessness. "Look…I'm in a bad spot right now. Can't you help me out?"

"Ok…" The proprietor answered, reaching out two fingers and pushing the carrots toward him. "Ten weell get yoo tis, and nothing else!"

The mountain man groaned.

"Um…" Anna interjected here. "I don't mean to interrupt, but…while you were over at the North Mountain…did you…see anything, um, unusual?"

Growing even more annoyed with her, the man turned and gave her a frown. "Yeah…I saw a blizzard in the middle of July. Look, lady…would you leave me alone while I talk to this crook?"

_Crink._

Both the mountain man and Anna turned to that sound, which, as it turned out, ended up being a wooden chair that someone was rising out of…in particular Oaken. The moment the new arrival had said that, he instantly began to rise…soon revealing that not only was he never standing in the first place, but was easily twice as large as the young man in terms of muscle size and a full head taller. As his shadow fell over the snow-covered individual, his previously-friendly look turned to one of hurt…and only slightly-contained anger.

"…Vat did yoo call me?"

About ten seconds later, Anna was rather stunned at the sight. She didn't think anyone could have seized someone the size of the mountain man…with one arm no less…carry him outside, and then throw him a distance of around fifty feet back out into the snow. The young man bellowed several rapid apologies for the insult, but Oaken didn't seem to care and apparently made sure to hit him against the sign on the way out before giving him a toss.

Not long after, the now-revealed-to-be-monstrous shopkeep came back in, once again resuming his ear-to-ear grin as he moved back behind the counter and sat down before facing Anna again.

"So sorry about tat infraction!" He reached behind the counter, and came back up with a jar of some yellow liquid and what looked like fish floating around in it…making the princess a bit sick. "Have a vittle lutefisk, and feel all better! Now then…just the dress and the boots, ya?"

The young woman hesitated here. She looked again at the counter. Her things were still there…as was the ice axe, the rope, and the carrots. She looked again to the window afterward…seeing the mountain man slowly picking himself out of the snow…and thought for a moment…

* * *

_And they wonder why I like hanging around them instead of people… _Kristoff thought with a grumble as he leaned back in the pile of hay. That latest incident with the trading post owner had just capped off a rather bad couple days. First he hit the city of Arendelle right before all of those rich fops arrived to all gawk and grovel before some queen and made a killing in sales due to everyone buying a lot of food and planning on keeping it cold. If he had just called it even after that, he would have been fine. But oh no…since he made such a killing, he immediately put down the last he owed on his sleigh, and then tried a "marathon" run to go cut some more ice and get back to sell at markup to finally see a profit for the first time in two years… So, after thoroughly exhausting himself trying to cut a fresh load as fast as possible, he finished up right as whatever gods may be decided they were going to "reverse seasons" on him…and before he knew it he nearly came down with frostbite and overexposure as he struggled to get back to civilization…with a load of useless ice and barely any money to his name.

On top of all that, he had let Sven down.

Most reindeer would be on the old side at this point in life, but Sven had always seemed to be special. As he grew older and larger, now practically moose-sized himself and with a large rack of antlers, he only seemed to approach more of the "prime" of his life. Maybe it was right what they said about him…that he was of a "mythic stock" of reindeer, the creatures of legend, as opposed to just any old wild one. Kristoff didn't mind much…just so long as he still had his "best buddy".

What he _did_ mind was that he had kept Sven running for hours on the promise that he would get him his favorite (and Kristoff's favorite) treat: carrots. However, that had completely fallen through just now. If he had just kept his big mouth shut, he could have at least gotten the carrots…but instead, shortly after getting a face full of snow, courtesy of that Swedish store owner, Sven had sniffed around him and come up dry with a disappointed look. He wasn't very thrilled with Kristoff's choice of accommodations for the evening either…namely the snow-covered barn. There wasn't any source of fire in there except for a couple oil lamps, after all, and no insulation other than some piles of hay. But…it did keep the wind and cold out. And it wasn't as if he wasn't used to sleeping in cold places.

Sure enough, by the time he had moved his things inside the barn, lit up the lamps, and then leaned down for the evening with Sven coming to a rest nearby, the reindeer seemed to have forgiven the whole thing. After all, he knew that Kristoff tried his best, just like him. And he figured he might as well enjoy one "small favor" he could get for all of this as he took out his mandolin, one of the only "luxury" items he owned. Sven was a bit eager on seeing that. One of his favorite things other than carrots was to hear Kristoff's "lullaby"…

After strumming his instrument a few times, making sure it was in tune, he looked to the side to see the reindeer eagerly looking at him. After smiling back, he began to play.

"Reindeers are better than people…" He sang. "Sven, don't you think that's true?"

Immediately, Kristoff turned his voice low with a somewhat "reindeer-sounding" tone, and as Sven moved his head, he sang "for him" as if some sort of ventriloquist.

_"Yeah, people will curse you and cheat you and beat you… Every one of 'em's bad…except you."_

"Oh, thanks buddy." Kristoff said back before continuing. "But people smell better than reindeers… Sven, don't you think that I'm right?"

Again, changing his voice…

_"That's once again true…for all except you…"_

He chuckled. "You got me…let's call it a night."

The reindeer, seeming to "smile", began to close his eyes and lower his head.

_"Good night…"_

As Kristoff played the last few chords, he began to lean back. "Don't let the frostbite…bite…" He too started to close his own eyes as Sven finished lying down.

He was distracted by hearing the barn door open. "Nice duet."

Immediately, both Kristoff and Sven snapped their heads back up and their eyes open, almost in surprise, to see who that was…although he already had a fairly good idea based on the voice. It was the same young woman from before.

It seemed she was smart enough to change clothes this time. To be honest, he thought he was looking at an imbecile before, the way she barely had a stitch of suitable clothing on her. About the only part of her old outfit she was still clearly wearing was her bodice. She had slipped on a thicker light green shirt underneath it that was long sleeved and was now wearing a set of different-colored green mittens. As for her lower half, she had pulled on a thicker blue dress over her previous one, at least being smart enough to use layers, it seemed, but the boots were more of the "dress" kind as opposed to being fully practical, especially with the embroidery and slightly-too-long heels. Still, they seemed to at least be made for snow. Over it all she had pulled a wool cloak, pink in color, with a second layer trimmed with black rabbit fur and tassels over her shoulders and chest, and finally topped it off with a matching color bonnet, this one lined with gray rabbit fur. She also had redone her hair into two braids, letting them hang over her ears and neck for additional protection. Aside from that, she had a sack with her.

At any rate, he wasn't too happy to see this unwelcome intruder, especially when she interjected on what was supposed to be a "private" moment between him and Sven. He soon gave her another dark look. "…What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you could take me to the North Mountain."

He looked back at her with a flat stare for a few moments. Then, without any more concern, simply leaned back onto the hay, reached up, and pulled his hat over his eyes.

"I don't 'take people places'." He simply responded.

A few moments later, he felt a blow to his stomach that made him pop back up again, the hat falling off of his eyes as he felt some of the air knocked out of him. He was shocked for a moment, before he looked down…and saw the sack had been thrown into his lap. He turned to the source, and found the young woman again, stepping in more…and her own look losing some of its friendliness and becoming harder and stronger herself.

"Let me 'rephrase' that…" She said in a sharper tone. "I _want_ you to take me to the North Mountain."

Kristoff paused…more out of surprise than anything. He had assumed until now this young woman was just a nuisance and a fool for wandering around in this weather the way she was dressed. He had enough intelligence to see her dress was more expensive than anything he could ever afford, so he assumed she might have been some lost noble from Arendelle who was somehow way off course from her ship. Yet seeing her look like this…he noticed there was a surprising fire in her, and a look of determination he hadn't seen before…

At any rate, he looked to the sack next. He pulled it open with a snap and reached inside…soon pulling out the ice axe and the rope. Sven, a bit eager, immediately moved in and began to sniff around it as well. Yet a few moments later, his look again turned to disappointment as he saw that the axe and rope was all that was inside. Kristoff looked back to the young woman.

Her look softened slightly again. "I know how to stop this winter. That's in your best interest, isn't it?"

Kristoff paused, looking at her. To tell the truth, he still wasn't any more inclined to lend a hand than he was a few moments ago. However…they had always told him to act grateful to people who did him favors. And the fact of the matter was he had given up on the ice axe and the rope. Furthermore, although he had no idea who this young woman was, he had to admit…it was a bit far from civilization. Somehow she had made it this far…which meant she was either exceptionally stupid or she had some reason for being out here. He had little reason to believe her claim that she indeed knew 'how to stop this winter'…but if she didn't, she must have been looking for a very creative way to commit suicide, because if the source of the winter _wasn't_ on the North Mountain then she was only looking at becoming an ice cube. Plus…she _did_ seem to have a look about her that was both certain as well as determined. And if this _did_ end the winter, then he really couldn't afford to not do something…

At last, he finally spoke. "…You forgot the carrots." He stated gruffly, before leaning back again, once more adjusting his hat. "…We leave at dawn."

He managed to just finish leaning back before a second sack smacked him in the face, making him shoot up with a start and a bit of a cry of alarm. Grumbling and cursing, he looked back to the young woman, who was wincing and cupping her face behind her new mitten.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm sor-" Abruptly, however, she cut herself off, cleared her throat, and then straightened up again. "I mean…" Forming a firm look again like before, she put one hand on her hip and pointed downward. "We leave _now_." After saying that, she spun around and immediately moved outside again.

Kristoff frowned one more time before relaxing, and then opened the second sack. Sure enough…the bunch of carrots was inside. Sven spotted it and hung his tongue out of his mouth happily. He looked back out to the doorway soon after.

Unknown to him, Anna was just on the other side, crossing her fingers underneath her mittens and praying that he would say yes…that her "direct approach" hadn't turned off the mountain man all together from helping her, because she honestly wasn't even sure where the North Mountain was…

As for Kristoff, he stared a bit longer…before pulling out one of the carrots and turning it slightly over to Sven, offering it to him. The reindeer eagerly bit off the end, getting a considerable amount of drool on it after doing so. Kristoff didn't seem to care and readily took up the remainder and bit off the end himself, drool and all, and began to eat it in much the same way.

Finally, he started to rise. _Just after I finished unloading the sleigh, too…_

* * *

_To be continued..._


	7. Chapter 6 - The Walk through the Wood

_Chapter 6 – "The Walk through the Woods and the Snowman"_

* * *

It took about twenty minutes for the man to finish reloading the sleigh and push off his load of ice. After all, he wouldn't be needing it now. Anna would have tried to help, but he seemed to give her the same stern look every time she glanced his way. Finally, once he was done unloading, he hitched up his reindeer…who, honestly, looked more like a moose to Anna than a reindeer…and then told her to get in.

"He'll be alright pulling us both, won't he?"

"All of that ice weighed a lot more than you. Hurry it up." He retorted.

Anna frowned a bit at the snippy response, but then began to climb in on one side as the man got up into the other. Once both were seated, he took the reins, but didn't crack them. Instead, he called out. "Alright…let's start heading up, buddy."

The reindeer immediately took off. Compared to the man, he seemed far better disposed to Anna. So long as she had ended up being a source of "snacks", she was alright in his book, it appeared. At any rate, he was so strong that Anna actually was snapped back into the seat a bit by his sudden pull, stunning her with his apparent strength. Not only that, but he soon got up to a speed that would surpass any horse trotting. In no time at all, they were racing away from the trading post and shooting into the night. Although there was no road and lots of trees, neither the reindeer nor the man seemed to mind. He simply lit up an oil lantern to illuminate the way, and in moments they were rushing through the icy forest.

At that point, Anna did wish a bit that her outfit had come with a scarf, considering the icy blast blowing up into her face. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the ride quite a bit. She had never been in a sleigh before, and the weather had never been bad enough for one when she was younger. Yet as they glided along through the snowy, quiet forest, she got a bit of a fun thrill from the entire experience. She actually smiled. When this was all over, she figured she should do this more often…though maybe with a blanket or two next time. She may have been better dressed now, but the cold wind was still a bit uncomfortable. Unfortunately for her, the man at her side treated the whole thing like a summer ride. He hadn't even replaced his own scarf as they went along.

About ten miles down the way, she looked over to him. "So…didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it to you." He flatly answered.

Anna frowned a bit at that, rolling her eyes. "Well…I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle."

"Not surprising." He answered.

She raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Only a princess would be dumb enough to be walking around outside in a dress in this weather with all that money on her."

She snorted a bit. "…Says the 'mountain man' who got caught in a blizzard."

For a moment, she thought she heard a snort, like a chuckle, coming from the reindeer pulling the sleigh. The man instantly gave him a frown. "Hey, whose side are you on, Sven?"

"Oh, Sven!" Anna immediately exclaimed. "So that's your name?" She said, addressing the reindeer. After that, she looked to the man. "Now are you going to be the only one holding out?"

The man rolled his eyes in response, but finally grumbled. "People call me 'Kristoff'."

Anna did focus a bit on his choice of words, but she didn't press it. He seemed grouchy enough. After a moment, she looked forward again, seeing the whiteness and trees race by. She soon let out a satisfied exhale.

"I'll tell you what, this sure beats walking around on foot…" She said as she began to lean back, putting her hands behind her head and raising her boots to the front of the sleigh to recline on them. "I never knew a sleigh ride could be such a nice way to trav-"

"Hey, hey! Whoa!" Kristoff suddenly outburst. She looked to him, and saw him glaring with disapproval toward her boots on the sleigh. He started to wave one of his own mittens at them. "Get your feet down! I just had this painted!"

Anna held only a moment, but then reluctantly did so. Yet she soon grew a bit confused when he immediately began to wipe meticulously at the spot with his mitten. Guys sure seemed obsessed with their "rides"… At any rate, he gave her another disapproving look. "Seriously, were you raised in a barn?"

With that, he spat on the spot and wiped a bit more. Unfortunately, considering how fast Sven was moving…that meant a good amount of it flew back in Anna's face. Grimacing, she wiped at it. "No…I was raised in a palace…"

"Go figure. Next worst thing…" He grumbled as he finished wiping, before leaning back. "Tell me something…how do you know what's causing this winter?"

"It's my sister…the queen." Anna responded.

Kristoff paused, looking a bit incredulous. "…Really."

"I'm serious. She has…I don't know…these crazy ice powers or something…"

The mountain man actually looked a bit more at her on hearing that. After a moment, however, he snickered a bit and looked forward. "What do you know… Turns out those songs the icemen are always singing were true… Let me guess…she was born on the first day of winter?"

Anna crossed her arms a bit and frowned. "You'd believe me if you were there…but you can ask a hundred people in Aren-"

"I never said I didn't believe you." Kristoff cut off. "It just reminds me of something I saw when…"

Here, however, he trailed off. Anna looked to him a bit more at that. In response, he looked to her, staring at her for a few seconds of silence. It actually made the princess a bit uncomfortable. After a time, she realized he was staring at something in particular…namely one of her braids.

"…How did that happen?" He asked, gesturing to her hair.

"It didn't 'happen'." Anna answered. "I was born with it."

Kristoff hesitated a bit longer, seeming to be thinking of something…or trying to remember, at least. After that, he gave a shrug and looked forward again. "Anyway…" He said, leaving the topic behind. "What exactly happened to make the queen go all 'ice-crazy'?"

"Well…" Anna answered, blanching a bit. "We…got into an argument."

"…Does your sister always ice over everything whenever things are 'a bit tense' in the family?"

"It wasn't like that! She was upset over the guy I'm going to marry because I had just met him earlier that day. And then I started arguing and-"

"Hold on." Kristoff suddenly stated, looking to Anna in puzzlement. "You had just met this guy."

"Yes." Anna stated somewhat impatiently. "Anyway, I started to argue, and I didn't even know about this power she had because she always keep _everything_ a secret from me, and…"

"You knew him for only one day."

The princess groaned at the interruption. "Yes…pay attention. Anyway, so she tried to walk away, I took her glove…and I didn't know why she wore them in the first place. I just assumed she always hated dirt…"

"You were going to _marry_ a guy…" Kristoff cut off, sounding even more incredulous than ever. "That you had _only_ known for _one _day_._"

Anna gave a groan at this. "Now don't tell me _you_ are going to start this too…"

"How can you marry a guy you've only known for _one day_?" Kristoff outburst.

"Easy! It's true love!" She instantly answered. "We've got so much in common!"

Kristoff narrowed his gaze.

"Really? What's his last time?"

Anna "pft"ed. "'Of the Southern Isles'. Duh."

"What's his favorite food?"

"Sandwiches."

"What's his favorite pet?"

"Probably a dog, or something."

"Have you seen him eat yet?"

"Huh?" She frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Kristoff chuckled. "You're going to marry a guy and you've never seen how he _eats_."

"So?"

"What if you can't stand it? What if you hate the way he chews? Or snores? Or picks his nose?"

"What?! Eww!"

"…And _eats it_."

Anna gave a look of revulsion. "That's disgusting!"

Kristoff merely gave a shrug and a smile as he looked forward. "All men do it. It's a fact."

"Not this man! He's a prince, for crying out loud!"

He shook his head. "I really can't believe you…" He looked to her again. "Didn't your parents ever warn you about hanging around strange men you just met?"

Anna stared back blankly at Kristoff for a moment. She then looked down and over him, his older clothing, and caught a whiff of the smell coming off of him…

"Yes, yes they did, actually…" She said as she began to inch farther away from him. Yet after a moment of silence, she crossed her arms and jutted her bottom lip at him. "Besides, what do you know about true love? Do _you_ have a girlfriend?"

Kristoff's smile faded at that. He looked forward silently for a moment. Anna's own smile returned as she waited for satisfaction.

"Well?"

"…No." He finally admitted. Anna was about to say "aha" when he quickly added. "But I have friends."

The young woman stared at him a moment. "…Friends, huh?"

"Yeah…and they tell me about these kind of things."

"Oh they do, huh?"

"Yeah. They're real love experts."

"Oho…" Anna said with a chuckle, rolling her eyes…and not noticing Sven's ears suddenly twitched. As a result, Kristoff, instantly picking up on that, quickly pulled the reins. The reindeer began to slow, but Anna didn't see that. "This I've _got_ to hear."

By now, Kristoff's look had fully turned to unease, and he began to look around the sleigh. "Be quiet." He told her.

"No, no! Go on!" Anna answered. "Tell me more about these 'love experts'."

"I'm serious." Kristoff retorted in a much sterner…but also quiet…tone. Hearing that, Anna's own smile faded, realizing he was genuinely nervous about something. She soon turned fully to him as he leaned up out of the sleigh and began to look around a bit more. The princess herself hesitated. She didn't hear anything. Nothing but the silence of the woods. However, she trusted his judgment better than her own.

After a moment, Kristoff grabbed the lantern off of the post in the front of the sleigh and began to wave it around, focusing the light over the sleigh and around them. There was nothing to the sides, and nothing in front of them. As Anna, growing more anxious herself at these changes, began to rise and look with him, he turned the lantern out to the rear of the sleigh. The young woman looked as well.

For a moment, there was nothing except the snowy fields and weighed-down conifer trees. Anna listened, but all she heard was a bit of snow falling off the trees and landing on the ground. Then again…as she listened a bit longer, it seemed as if it was coming regularly. And a bit louder as well…

Finally, she saw something the same time Kristoff did.

A line of glimmering orbs in sets of two behind them.

Wolf eyes.

Immediately, Kristoff snapped forward, put the lantern back, and seized the reins. "We got to go, buddy…_now_." He actually gave a crack this time, but it was hardly necessary. Sven seemed to pick up on the distress and instantly took off again. Once more, Anna was nearly thrown into the rear of the sleigh. Yet even as they went, she saw snow flying behind them before several large wolves, making horrible growling noises that didn't even sound like what she traditionally thought of as a "wolf", tore out after them, teeth flashing as they ran at a breakneck pace after the sleigh.

"Wolves?" She said aloud as she looked to them, before turning to Kristoff. "Wait…my dad always said they didn't attack people passing through…"

"Take a closer look at their jaws!" Kristoff retorted as he held on tight while Sven picked up speed.

Anna did so. She soon found a wave of increasing anxiety going through her on seeing that some of them had already closed the distance quite a bit. Yet on looking at the jaws of the nearest ones, she saw almost a white line around it that she was pretty sure wasn't from snow…

"They're rabid! There was a pack of rabid ones up in the mountains east of here!" Kristoff yelled over the increasing sound of snow over the sleigh blades. "They must have come down when the winter hit!"

Hearing that made Anna pale a bit more…even if she was secretly glad that she had run into Kristoff, because if she had been wandering out here on foot before… Of course, that didn't really seem to matter at the moment considering the fact that they were quickly closing the distance on the sleigh, and some of them were starting to fan out to try and flank it like they would any prey. She felt her heart rush a bit. She began to look down into the sleigh for that ice axe. It might make a good weapon…

"Here!" Kristoff shouted.

She turned and looked, almost thinking that he was about to give her the ice axe. Instead, he passed the reins off to her. She was a bit surprised at that, but even more surprised when he got up, reached into the sleigh, and came back with a piece of dry kindling. "Hold the reins! I'll fight them off!"

As he drove the end of the wood into the oil lamp to light it up, and it caught remarkably fast…even as the wolves narrowed to within a couple feet of the sleigh on three sides, Anna shouted out to him. "I can help!"

"I don't want you to help!" He shouted back as he brought the now-firebrand out of the torch and swung it at the wolf nearest him on his side. It growled in response, but only went away a short distance before coming back.

The princess was indignant. "Why not?"

"I don't trust your judgment!" He shouted back…lunging over her body momentarily to drive the firebrand into the face of a wolf that had been about to consider leaping in from her side. It singed the creature, and it yelped before falling back. He quickly rose again and spun around back to the other side.

"_My_ judgment?!"

"Who marries some guy she just met?" He shouted back as he reached out with his heavy, thick boot and squarely kicked one of the wolves leaping into the sleigh with it, kicking it back out and sending it for a tumble.

Her face turning to rage, Anna immediately let go of the reins, letting them fall out through the sleigh. It didn't really matter at this point, as Sven was still running and the wolves were still chasing. Instead, she snapped over the edge and seized Kristoff's mandolin. He turned to her, and actually paled a bit as she swung it behind her by the neck like a bat.

"He's. _A. PRINCE!"_

She swung it out full force.

_"And it's true love!"_

Kristoff, for a moment, honestly thought he was going to get beaned by his own instrument…only to have it just barely miss his nose before smashing full force into the head of a wolf at the rear, who had just managed to jump on the back of the sleigh and had leapt again for the front. As it was, the creature gave a grunt as the force knocked it back out of the air and into the snow again.

The mountain man blinked as he looked to her while she lowered the instrument. For a moment, he was honestly impressed. He didn't think this princess too dumb to even wear a coat could actually pull off something like that… Yet before his impressions of her could change any further, one of the wolves suddenly leapt up and bit down on his shoulder, before yanking him off of the sleigh all together and into the rushing snow, dropping the firebrand while he was at it.

Anna's own anger abated as she gasped. Dropping the mandolin on the seat while the firebrand landed in the foot area, she quickly snapped into a standing position and shouted out. "Christianson!"

She actually felt a measure of relief when she heard a rather irate and struggling voice yell back. _"It's 'Kristoff'!"_

At once, the woman snatched up the firebrand and held it out to the rear. Miraculously, as Kristoff had spilled out of the back of the sleigh, since it had no sides he was able to seize one end of the rope he had bought. He had tied a knot in it earlier and linked it to the sleigh, apparently to assist in pulling it if it grew stuck later. Now, however, it served as a tether as he was dragged through the fresh powder. His shoulder was fully intact. His layers of thick clothing hadn't even been pierced by the fangs of the wolves. However, that wasn't stopping three of them from trying to bite him now as he was dangled along like a fish on a hook.

Anna stared helplessly for only a moment, looking around for anything she could use. FShe found only one thing. Although this would likely make the mountain man angry, she lowered the firebrand to his rolled-up and bound bedroll. Spreading the torch over it, she set it aflame in moments. Tossing the firebrand away to one side, she grabbed the entire bundle of burning cloth from the sides, raised it over her head, and then flung it right for Kristoff's location.

The mountain man soon got another pleasant surprise when it turned out Anna's aim was excellent. He needed only lower his head slightly, and the burning bundle sailed right over his head and body, smacking into the head of the wolf directly behind him instead. It gave out a pained yelp and a tumble. The fire served to drive off the other two as well. Kristoff was stunned again. He thought for sure that move would have ended up with him getting singed…but the princess apparently had a "good arm". At any rate, with that done, he quickly began to choke up on the rope, yanking himself back to the sleigh. After all, the other wolves were rapidly closing in again. Even the one that was burned by the bedroll had risen again, shaking it off and still coming. Luckily, he had more than enough strength to quickly return to the sleigh, grab onto the edge, and yank himself in.

Once he was inside, he paused only a moment to catch his breath, before quickly getting up and running back to the front. He found Anna there, giving him a bit of a grin, either at seeing him alright, or at seeing how she had been able to help. However, as he panted a bit from his experience, he pointed up ahead. "Look!"

The woman turned around, her own smile fading once again. The trees were rapidly thinning out. Just up ahead was a deep ravine, pretty much a cliff on either side. It didn't really matter if it was frozen over, as at this height the result was going to be breaking most of the bones in their bodies on landing. Of course, even if they stopped…the wolves weren't "calling off the chase" just because of that…

Quickly, she ran to the edge, reached over, and tried to get the reins. As for Kristoff, he looked behind for just a moment, before quickly going to the rope. With skill that would seem impossible for a man in mittens, he managed to somehow untie it and quickly bring it back, looping and rolling it at the same time. In just a few moments, it was coiled, and he seized the ice axe next, followed by the sack of carrots. Just at that moment, Anna managed to get the reins and pull back into the sleigh. She looked behind her again, then ahead to the cliff they were nearing.

"We've got not choice! You'll have to jump, Sven!" She shouted.

"Hey!" Kristoff snapped back, causing her to whirl to him. Before she knew what was happening, the rope, ice axe, and carrots had been flung in her arms. She got another shock a moment later when, without prompting, Kristoff seized her from the back of her cloak and dress and, with one arm, began to lift her out of the sleigh.

"He takes orders from _me_, not you!" He shouted, before, flinging her forward and off of the sleigh. Anna nearly cried out…before she suddenly found herself landing on top of Sven like he was a horse. She was stunned. She didn't think anyone rode reindeer who weren't in fairy tales… Yet Sven not only seemed broader and stronger than any horse, but used to carrying riders. She tried to look back to Kristoff, but the mountain man was already on the move again, throwing aside the reins that Anna had and yanking out a hunting knife from his clothing.

"Jump, Sven!" He shouted.

* * *

By now, the sleigh had already finished ascending the last bit of upland, and was nearly to the edge of the cliff. The moment Kristoff shouted his command, the reindeer took off at once, with the princess wrapping her arms around his neck for dear life as he sailed through the air. Luckily for her, Sven was more than powerful enough to perform a feat like this. Although the gap had to be a good thirty feet, he sailed right over and landed well on the other side, not even near the edge. Kristoff normally would have been used to such a thing himself…but as there was no way Sven could have made the jump with two riders, he found himself in a much worse predicament…

Moments afterward, the sleigh shot over the edge as well. It had a good amount of momentum…but not nearly as much as the reindeer had. Kristoff only had a moment as vertigo struck him and the sleigh hovered through the air to quickly leap up onto the rider's bench. As the sleigh began to descend, not reaching near the zenith that Sven had, he squatted a moment before leaping off with all the strength he could muster. For a moment, his body sailed through the air, with his vision seeing entirely too much of the cliff and not the snow on top of it…and wondering if he had jumped high enough…

Yet a second later, his body smashed into several inches of snow. It was so thick he wasn't able to tell how much of it was ground and how much of it had run over the edge, but he was definitely on a downward slope, his legs practically dangling over the cliff, and his arms just scarcely holding on. He held for a moment, his heart racing, honestly afraid to move. After a few seconds, he managed to get sure enough to look over to the opposite cliff.

The wolves were gathered there. However, mad as they were, they had enough of their wits to not try and jump. They merely snarled for a bit before turning and leaving their potential prey behind. That was only part of the reason Kristoff turned though. He looked below him afterward.

There lay his sleigh, in a broken, splintered pile. He was just in time to see the lantern smashed with the rest of it, having already had most of its oil splashed out over the rest. Then…the fire lit it up, and in moments he saw his pride and joy go up in flames.

He couldn't help but have a hurt look on his face.

_I just paid that off…_

Unfortunately, at that second, he looked as if he was about to share its fate, because the snow under his hands suddenly gave way. Instantly, he slid back a few inches. He stopped afterward, but following that he began to progressively slide more. For a moment, he scrambled his hands out, trying to find a purchase. But in addition to only running his hands through more snow, he slid a bit more from doing so. This wasn't good. He wasn't sure even he could survive a fall like this…especially since he was landing in a rocky ravine on top of a burning sleigh…

Yet as he looked up desperately for anything to grab onto, he was just in time to see the ice axe, the rope tied securely to the end, fly through the air toward him. It landed right in the snow within arm's reach a second later, sinking in and hitting firm. His mind flew for a moment, realizing that the princess had to have tied it. However, not having time to worry about security, or how she was supposed to pull him up when she was half the size of him, he seized the end and held on tight.

Much to his surprise, his body's progress was soon arrested, and he began to come up the cliff side.

"Pull, Sven!" He heard her voice yell.

As Kristoff was slowly pulled over the edge, he saw the young woman tugging on the rope, but also having quickly tied the other end around Sven. She even did it in a way that kept the rope from cutting into him and making him more effective. Not only that, but the knots she had tied held very well. She may have clearly known nothing about how to survive or travel in winter conditions…but Kristoff was beginning to realize she was still quick thinking and not unskilled. That second throw had been as good as the first…

However, any "warmer" feelings toward the young woman were a bit overshadowed by the terror of potential death at the moment. And as he was pulled to safety and his heart continued to rush, more of what had just happened rushed to mind. He had saved the ice axe and rope specifically because he had just bought the things. Yet every other worldly possession he owned…his bedroll, his mandolin, his lamp, his changes of clothes, his ice-cutting tools, and, most importantly, his sleigh...were now lying at the bottom of the ravine casting out a warm glow as they burned to nothingness. All because of three little words…

_We leave _now_._

_ If she had just waited until morning…_

At last, Kristoff was back on level ground, half sunk in snow that had been dragged around him. He rolled over and sprawled out, struggling to get his breath and letting his heart calm down. After a moment, Sven trotted over to him, and immediately stuck his wet muzzle down and began to nudge him, as if to ask: _Are you going to be alright, man?_

A few moments later, Anna also stepped into view, although he only saw her peripherally along with Sven. His eyes were still skyward, thinking about that image of his burning sleigh as well as his life flashing before his eyes… At the bare minimum, she looked a little "small" at the moment as she uneasily folded her hands in front of her and kept her head lowered.

"…Sorry about your sleigh." She said after a moment.

Kristoff didn't answer or even acknowledge he had heard.

"…I'll replace it." She said more earnestly. She swallowed. "And…everything in it…"

Still no response from him. She uneasily dug her boots into the snow and wrung her hands.

"And…" She finally stated reluctantly. "You…don't have to help me anymore…if you don't want to…"

She held on hopefully for a moment, turning her body but keeping her head on him. Yet when he didn't move, she regretfully turned away and began to walk up the hill toward the tree line.

Kristoff listened as her footsteps slowly began to fade out. However, before they were gone, Sven lowered his head such that he could see it more directly. He soon nuzzled him again, and then gave a grunt, a sad look on his face.

The mountain man turned his head to him in an instant. "Of course I don't want to help her anymore." He instantly shot back, as if the reindeer had just said something to him. "In fact…this little excursion has scared me away from ever helping _anyone_ again."

With a groan, he began to lean out of the snow. However, Sven gave him a sad look in response. He stared for a moment, before Kristoff again spoke in "Sven's voice".

_"But…she'll die out there on her own!"_

Kristoff turned a glance behind him. Sure enough…the girl was already well on her way to getting hopelessly lost. She was muttering to herself about which way to go before starting to wander in the opposite direction of the North Mountain and toward the wilds where, assuming there weren't any more hungry animals, she'd roam around for days until she either starved (as she still had no provisions) or froze to death (which was the more likely outcome considering the temperature).

"Not my problem." He simply said after a moment.

Sven didn't change.

_"But then you won't get a new sleigh…"_

The mountain man fixed Sven with a stern glare at that. The reindeer didn't change.

"…I really hate you sometimes." He finally stated. With the mother-of-all sighs, he rolled his eyes and called behind him. "Wait up!"

Instantly he heard her voice behind him. "Really?!" She said excitedly, before quickly changing her tone. "I mean…uh, sure! I'll let you tag along!"

In spite of everything that happened, Kristoff couldn't help but smile a bit and shake his head as he started to push himself up and out of the snow. Sven, on his part, seemed more than happy as he merrily bounded over to Anna. The mountain man took more of his time as he rose, dusted himself off, and then began to walk up and after her.

On reaching her, she grinned a bit before motioning forward. "Alright, let's get going!" She turned and took a step, then paused and looked back to him. "Er…which way again?"

"To the nearest tree with thick branches." He flatly answered as he walked ahead of her, leading on.

Anna stared back at him in a bit of confusion. "Huh?"

* * *

"Er…we're not supposed to freeze in _that_?"

Anna was currently regarding Kristoff's idea of shelter for the night with a bit of disdain. In truth, she was regarding _any_ shelter for the night with disdain…wanting to hurry up and get to Elsa. Yet she realized by now she had been awake for nearly 24 hours. And part of the reason she had propped her feet up on the sleigh was because she had thought of dozing off. Still, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Kristoff had essentially used the ice axe to tunnel out a bit of snow under one of the trees with thicker branches, creating an open space around the base. That done, he had cut other low hanging pine branches and been lining the bottom of it.

"Snow is a better insulator than you think." He answered her. "It'll be warmer than out in the open, that's for sure. Safer too. Plus these branches…" He indicated to the ones on the tree directly overhead, which he had already knocked loose of snow. "Will make sure we don't wake up in a few inches of flakes if it starts coming down."

Anna took all of this into consideration. Yet as Kristoff actually seemed to help Sven down into it, and the prospect of two individuals who stunk of reindeer filling her nostrils all night became a distinct possibility, she couldn't help but wring one of her arms. "Uh…are you sure we can't just go on? It should be dawn in a couple hours…"

"Then we can get going in a couple hours." Kristoff flatly responded. "I toughed all day through a blizzard to get _away_ from the North Mountain. I'm not going back there until I've gotten some rest." As Sven finished slipping into the hole, which was barely big enough around for him, but he didn't seem to mind as he curled around half of the tree, Kristoff motioned to her. "Now come on. This'll be your last chance to try and dry out some of your clothes if they're wet."

The thought of taking anything off around Kristoff made Anna blanch. "Uh, my clothing is quite dry, thank you very much." Uneasily, she began to move to the edge of the hole and slowly lowered herself down into it, trying not to smack herself in the face with the tree branches as she pushed them aside. "We're not, like…I don't know…sharing body warmth…are we?"

"What?!" Kristoff nearly snapped. "Of course not! This is _my_ side of the hole, that's _your_ side of the hole, and that's Sven's."

Once she finally slipped inside, where it was rather dark…but pleasantly a bit warmer, Anna called out again. "Er…Sven, would you mind if I…stuck closer to you tonight?"

A grunt came from the darkness.

"I…don't speak reindeer…"

"He said no."

An angrier grunt went out.

"Oh, come on! I thought we were supposed to be pals! _You two could always just lie to- _No! Fine! You take him and I'll just lie over here by myself! Unlike _some_ people, I don't cozy up to strangers!"

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?!"

A sigh. "Forget it… I'm over here…you two are over there…good night. Oh, Sven, I'd sing your favorite song, but _someone_ burned up my mandolin along with-"

_"_Good _night!"_ Anna's voice snapped.

She heard some rustling in the darkness, followed by a groan and a sigh. As for her, she moved around a bit until she felt Sven's hoof. The smell was a bit strong…but she was getting used to it by now. Especially when she slowly leaned down on the branches and leaned over to put her head against his furry body. The reindeer didn't react, and it felt like a warm, soft pillow. As she eased down, she realized that this wasn't so bad. And she _was_ pretty tired…and this place was warmer… She soon closed her eyes and began to breathe softly.

"Of course, if you _really_ wanted to share body warmth…" She heard muttered.

"…Huh?"

"I said 'don't snore'!" Kristoff snapped more loudly before slumping again.

* * *

It wasn't the most comfortable night that Anna had ever had in her life, but seeing as it wasn't being cooped up in the castle trying to stave off boredom, she had to admit it was a bit "fun", if only for a change. Of course, her thoughts were different when she crawled her way out of the temporary shelter the next morning, a little stiff from her position as well as finding that they were still in deep snow and cold. On the plus side, it seemed the snow had melted and refroze the top layer a bit, making it firm enough to hold weight without them sinking to their knees every time so long as they didn't put too much force on it. Even Sven could walk at a fairly normal pace. She did feel a tad on the hungry side…but she realized the only food they had on them was the bunch of carrots that Kristoff had. She helped herself to one…making sure not to look when Kristoff and Sven "shared" one between them, then took up the rest as her "load" while the mountain man took the rope and ice axe. Soon they were on their way again.

With the sun out, it seemed they were at least free from animal attack. Nevertheless, as the hours wore in, Anna found she had to push herself to stay even with Kristoff. While she had walked around a bit yesterday, she had spent most of the time on her horse. Now on her feet, she found it a bit more difficult. On the plus side, the brisk pace kept her from getting chilly again, especially since Kristoff progressively led them uphill. Tired as she was getting, she didn't want to slow again. After all, it wasn't just her who was caught in this unnatural winter right now. It was all of Arendelle. The faster she got back to Elsa and had her undo this, the better.

That fact only became more clear when they managed to reach the top of the first real hill, and the trees broke enough to actually looked down and back, all the way to the ocean. She paused there to look and saw, much to her unease, that it was frozen solid as far as the eye could see, all the way to the horizon. Far worse than that, however, was that she could make out a white, irregular bump far away on the coast…and realized that it was Arendelle: completely frozen over and in deep snow.

_That's ok…_ She told herself before moving on back into the woods. _Elsa will fix it…_

Still, even walking through the forest was an interesting experience. Anna had spent most of her winters around the castle grounds as a little girl, and the rest of them either in the courtyard, which was always shoveled, or the castle. Yet from what she could see out her window, the snow had never come down as heavy and thick as this before…even if it just seemed to "form" on things.

As they continued to climb higher and the trees started to thin out, as well as the air, which, as a result, grew colder and harder to breathe, Anna forced herself a bit harder to stay even with Kristoff and Sven, but also couldn't help but look around and be slowed from that too. After a time, he turned to her.

"Not falling behind already, are you?" He asked. "We've still got quite a few miles ahead of us."

Anna had to fight to hide the fact that her heart sank on hearing that. However, she shook her head. "Just looking around… Everything seems so…different. So…"

"Magic?" He suggested.

Anna looked to him, realizing he took the words out of her mouth. He kept walking as he looked around.

"That's what all the icemen think…and that includes me, I guess." He said as he looked around. "Beautiful, powerful, dangerous, and cold… Other than keeping things cold or making some desserts, there's not much use to it…and most people would be better off without it. Yet people still want it. There's something 'beautiful' in it that they admire. They like looking at it…watching it form…skating on it…making sculptures out of it… Heck, all polished gems look like ice in one way or another, and people pay all kinds of money for those. That's why we think it's magic."

The young woman thought about that a moment, before once again looking around. "I never really thought of it that way…" She admitted. "But…maybe you're right."

"If you think _this_ is pretty…" Kristoff went on. "Wait until you see what's ahead."

Anna looked forward again at that, and saw that Kristoff picked up the pace a bit, seeming to want to get there quickly. Sven followed. In spite of being tired and a little out of breath, Anna found herself following quickly too. They ended up walking for about another quarter mile…when she saw it.

There was a small glade of shorter trees up ahead, ones that weren't conifers at all. These one had lost their leaves, and now their branches hung low, almost like a weeping willow, and were lined with what looked like "beads" of pure, reflective ice weighing them down. The end result was to create a glen of shimmering crystals, blowing ever so slightly in the wind as it came by. Yet what was even nicer was just up ahead. There was a natural spring that had flowed at one point, but was now turned to ice. The end result was a beautiful "ice sculpture" of a waterfall, cascading down slowly to the frozen pond below. To top it all off, the sun gave the branches just the slightest tint of pink from where it sat in the sky. The result was to make the entire glade have a rosy color to it.

Anna was honestly enraptured as she passed through. When they went into the trees, she reached out to some of the icy branches and ran her hand along them. They whipped by like wind chimes, giving out a pretty "jingling" sound. Kristoff looked just as captivated as he looked around. As for Sven, his antlers got entangled in some of the icy branches, but when he heard the jingle, he only lit up in delight and shook his head furiously in them to make more noise.

"I knew about the waterfall, but…I didn't expect this…" Kristoff muttered aloud. "I've never seen anything like it…"

"I never knew winter could be so…beautiful…" Anna echoed as she looked about.

Then, much to her surprise, she actually heard a _third_ voice, and not Kristoff's "impression" of Sven, respond.

"Yeah, it's really nice…but it could use a bit of color, don't you think? I mean, just white everywhere?"

Anna soon slowed to a stop, and Kristoff did as well. Sven, having managed to get his antlers entangled with branches and dangling ice droplets and happily making his own noise as he went along, quickly pulled up behind them and looked around. As for the two humans, they began to look on either side of them and ahead for the source of the voice.

"It would be nice if there were some reds…and greens…and yellows…" The voice went on as it got closer to them. However, the way that the glen was laid out, and against the rock wall with the spring, it was impossible to echolocate. "No, wait…no yellow. Yellow and snow do _not_ mix."

As Anna looked around a bit more and the voice kept talking, she suddenly heard a bit of rustling through the snow, as if something was crunching the top layer of it. Not only that, but it was right behind her…and coming up closer. Kristoff heard this at about the same time. Both of them turned and looked to the source.

They were just in time to see a three and a half foot tall snowman with three twigs for hair, two three-pronged sticks for arms, coal buttons, a wide grinning mouth with a single snow "tooth" on his upper jaw…as well as two eyes that weren't coal at all but living, looking eyes…waddle on little snow legs in between them. He gazed forward with a somewhat dopey grin for a moment, as if not seeing either of them…before his head suddenly turned to Anna.

"Hi!" He said as he raised one of his stick arms to wave at her.

Naturally, the young woman did the only sensible reaction. She screamed before immediately kicking out at the snowman with her boot. Her toe landed squarely on his head, instantly severing it from the rest of his body, and tossing it in a graceful arc that landed right in Kristoff's hands. The snowman, seemingly indifferent, merely looked up to him with the same smile.

"Hello there!"

"You're creepy." Kristoff answered, right before tossing the head back over to Anna.

She caught it, but immediately winced again. "I don't want it!" She cried before throwing it back to him. Soon, the two were playing an ironic game of "hot potato" with the head. All the while, it continued to talk to them.

"Hey! Hi! Ho! Uh… I'd. Appreciate. It. If you'd. Stop. Doing. That…"

All the while, the headless body of the snowman held its arms out and vainly ran between the two, trying to reacquire its lost noggin. Anna, eventually getting tired of Kristoff continuously flinging the snowman's head, threw it down at the body as it approached her. On making impact with the top, instantly the force ripped the snowman back in a tumbling somersault, casting it away from both of them before it smashed into a snowdrift.

Anna took a moment to get her bearings after that. However, as the initial shock wore off from seeing a living snowman with eyes, her senses slowly came back to her as she realized the, well, for lack of a better word, "creature" hadn't exactly tried to do anything hostile. Even when his head was being tossed around, he seemed to remain perfectly amiable and calm. He had even smiled and waved when he first showed up.

At any rate, after a moment, the snowman rolled his body forward into a seated position…revealing that his head had gone back on upside down. For a moment, he smiled, but then his look turned to confusion.

"Wait…what's going on?" He said aloud. "Why are you all hanging upside down from the world like bats?"

Kristoff was still standoffish about the snowman, but Anna, on hearing it still having a perfectly calm, almost innocent tone…as well as not realizing what had just happened to it…she decided to calm herself a bit more. A bit nervously, she tried to respond in a more friendly manner.

"Oh…sorry about that. Um…here."

With that, moving a bit hesitantly, she walked up to the snowman and bent down next to him. She was a bit wary of him "biting" or scratching or whatever, but he just stood there patiently and waited. On reaching the snowman, she hesitated only a moment more before reaching out, taking the head, and pulling it off again. Although he made a minor exclamation of surprise, the move didn't appear to hurt him at all. After that, she spun the head around and put it back on.

"Um…there you go!" She said, a bit more friendly.

"Oh!" The snowman exclaimed cheerfully. "That's much better!" He held his stick arms out as if showing himself off. "Now I'm perfect!"

The casual mood of the "creature" served to put Anna more at ease. However, it was a bit more than that. Something about this snowman…made her feel odd inside. Almost…happy, if such a thing was possible. Like seeing him brought back a distant memory of a happier time, before the years of isolation and the distance between her and Elsa… She couldn't think of what, however. Only that something…was still off…something she felt the need to fix…

On looking at the snowman a bit more, it hit her. She actually smiled a bit more.

"Not quite…" She answered. She soon lowered the sack with the carrots and began to look inside.

As she did, the snowman turned and looked to Kristoff, who, by now, was tentatively walking forward as well, scrutinizing the snowman the way a biologist might study a new species of beetle. Sven was also beginning to walk closer, sniffing the air a bit. However, the snowman just kept grinning and waved his hand at them. "Hello again!" He began to turn back to Anna afterward. "It's always nice to meet new-Ooh!"

Unfortunately, just as the snowman turned around, Anna had emerged with a carrot and begun to hold it up to him…but he turned around so quickly that he ended up shoving his head onto it and forcing the bulk of the carrot right through it, until only a little tip protruded from his face while the rest hung out of the back of his head. In the process, he went cross-eyed and gagged, causing Anna to yelp as he looked about dizzily and cup a hand to her mouth.

After a moment, he blinked a few times. "Whoa…head rush…"

The young woman gulped. "Uh…are you ok?"

The snowman blinked once more, and looked down in front of his face. Immediately, he lit up again. "Ok? I'm better than ok! I have a _nose!_" Grinning in delight, he turned a bit to one side and reached his stick arms up to admire it. "And it's so cute!" He soon made a "cutesy" tone to his voice. "It's like a widdle baby unicorn…Agh!"

Unfortunately, he soon went spacey again, this time his eyes going wall-eyed, as Anna reached behind his head, seeing the protruding carrot, and pushed it in…proceeding to shove it back through the snowman's head and giving him a much larger nose than before. Of course, she winced again as she saw him react, and once again went about dizzily.

"Uh…sorry about that."

The snowman blinked a few times, then looked down, and grinned even wider. "Oh, now it's even better than before!" He exclaimed. "I love it!"

After hopping once, not seeming to care that his "sections" separated for a moment on doing so, he waddled around to look back to Anna, and soon held his arms wide.

"Hi! I'm Olaf! And I like warm hugs!"

Kristoff and Sven were fairly indifferent to this greeting…but Anna's face immediately changed.

"…Olaf?" She echoed.

The snowman merely smiled, and continued to hold his arms wide.

The princess stared at him for a few moments…saw that look on his face…those sticks…the carrot nose…the one snow "tooth"…the three twigs for hair…and her memory stirred. She remembered sitting with her arms around Elsa outside on a snowy day. Not as bad as this one, but still a happy time. She remembered helping her roll together some snow, stacking it together, and Elsa moving behind their creation and moving the arms while saying in a faux-male voice…

_He's…he's hers… That's why he's alive… _She_ did it… I had no idea Elsa had that kind of power…_

At any rate, the happy memory soon made Anna smile. "Of course…Olaf!" She exclaimed.

The snowman, Olaf, continued to smile, although he spoke a bit uncertainly a bit later. "And…you are…?"

Shaking her head clear of her thoughts, Anna gestured to herself. "Oh! I'm Anna."

"Hi Anna!" Olaf answered cheerfully, before turning his head to the side, seeing Kristoff still gazing at him in a mixture of wonder and analysis, as well as Sven…who seemed to be staring at one thing in particular. Namely his nose. In fact, he was progressively getting closer to it…

"Hey Anna, who's the weird hairy donkey?" Olaf asked.

"That's Sven."

"Uh-huh. And who's the reindeer?"

Anna's smile faded a little. "…Sven."

"Ooooh…" Olaf exclaimed aloud. "So they're both… Well, that just makes things easier for me!"

Sven suddenly opened his mouth and snapped forward a bit, trying to take a bite out of the snowman's new nose. Luckily for Olaf, he was turning his head at just the right time, and the teeth narrowly missed. Immediately, he chuckled.

"Aw, isn't that cute? He tried to kiss my new nose!" He winked at the reindeer. "I like you too, buddy!"

"Olaf?" Anna asked.

The snowman turned fully to her, holding his arms wide, as if still expecting the "warm hug". However, he seemed oblivious a moment later when Kristoff, quite casually, removed one of his arms and began to study it, muttering a bit to himself as he looked it over.

"Did Elsa build you?" Anna asked.

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"Do you know where she is?"

"Uh-huh. Why?"

"Do you think you can take us to her?"

At this point, Kristoff tried bending the arm at the "joint". Abruptly, the stick arm reached out and gave him a light smack across the cheek, causing him to recoil a bit. Immediately, Olaf turned around, seized the arm from him with his "good" arm, while the disembodied one pointed a disciplining finger at him. "No, Sven!" He corrected, before reattaching it and then spinning back around to give Anna the same look as before. "Uh-huh. Why?"

Kristoff, not seeming to be too miffed by the slap, just more surprised than anything, interjected here. "We need her to bring back summer."

Olaf looked to him…and suddenly let out an ecstatic gasp. He folded his hands in front of him in delight. "Ah…summer!" He exclaimed as he looked out to the landscape dreamily. "You know, it's odd…but I've _always_ been excited at the prospect of summer…and sun…and all things warm…"

Both Anna and Kristoff gave him a strange look at that. After a moment, the mountain man cracked a half smile.

"Really? I take it you don't have a whole lot of experience with heat."

Olaf shook his head. "No…but I always loved to imagine what it would be like…" He said happily, looking back out again. "Bees buzzing…dandelions blooming…and me doing what all snow does in summer…" He sighed in delight. "I can picture myself on a warm beach, lying on the burning sand and getting this glorious, golden-brown tan… Oh maybe being in a nice sauna! It's the perfect combination! Hot and cold together…it just makes sense! I'll just relax and let off steam…"

He looked to the two of them for a moment…and at this point it looked as if Kristoff was struggling not to giggle while Anna merely smiled, letting him indulge his fantasy.

"It's like that old rhyme says! 'Winter's a great time to stay in and cuddle…but put a snowman in summer and he'll be a…'" He froze for a moment, seeming to forget what the next word was. He raised a stick arm and tapped the side of his head for a moment, and then lit up as he snapped his fingers. "'…a happy snowman!'" He suddenly exclaimed in delight and pointed to them. "Hey! We can all get together on a bright, blue sunny day and have a picnic together! I'll tell all my friends about it! Hey…maybe they can come too!"

Anna and Kristoff stood there silently and merely smiled back for a moment.

"…I'm going to tell him." Kristoff stated at last.

Anna immediately snapped to him with a cross look. "Don't you dare!"

"Well…what are we waiting for?" Olaf exclaimed, not seeming to notice this exchange at all. He hopped again, once more separating his "layers", before turning and beginning to waddle/run along ahead. "Let's go see Elsa and bring back summer!"

"Right behind you!" Anna shouted back as she soon dashed after him. "Come on you guys!" She shouted beyond.

Sven, who hadn't taken his eyes off of the carrot nose for a moment, soon dashed after them both. Kristoff was left standing silently behind, watching them gain distance for a moment. His smile at faded, and he shook his head at them as they ran.

_Somebody's got to tell him… _He thought before running after.

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: There was nothing in the film to indicate the wolves pursuing Anna and Kristoff were anything more than normal wolves...which is exactly why I added additional dialogue in this version of the story to make them rabid. Wolves are one of the most discriminated predators that are out there, leading humans to irrationally hunt and destroy them, much to the detriment of the environment. In the entire history of North America, there has only ever been ONE non-rabid wolf attack. I don't appreciate Disney, or Hollywood, making it look as if they have nothing better to do than eat humans.

One of my two "added" scenes was in this chapter. There was no scene in the original movie of Anna, Kristoff, and Sven settling down for the night. But it seemed ridiculous to me that Anna and Kristoff would have been hiking through cold weather for 24 hours just to spend all of the next day hiking up a colder mountain without food unless they took _some _time to rest up first.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Snow Queen's Palace

_Chapter 7 – "The Snow Queen's Palace"_

* * *

Anna may have gotten a glimpse of Arendelle while on top of the hill, but things were getting a bit more tense than she realized.

By now, much of the city was under heavy snowfall, and the people had come close to panicking more than once…understandably so. Although the actual flakes coming down had never been more than light, and most of the time the sky had been clear, snow piles just seemed to "form" on everything. It was also colder than the worst winter anyone in the city had ever seen, or any of their family members had seen ever since the city had been settled. They weren't even used to making preparations for winter until late August or even early September. Not to mention with all of the nobles in town, and now forced to stay whether they liked it or not, the town was crowded heavily. The youngest and oldest citizens had held out alright the first day, but by now things were getting rather strained since they were into the second day of being "snowed in".

That being said, Anna had apparently made a good choice in naming Hans the steward.

He had wasted little time tackling the problem head on. His first order of business was to organize all of the able-bodied men and women he could fine, and then divided them into two respective groups. The men he put to work chopping firewood as there was a shortage at this time of year, and the women he put to work cracking open Arendelle's fabric stockpiles, the wool in particular, and started to produce as many cloaks as they could. As for the castle's staff, he made use of them being on duty to turn the castle itself into a mass shelter for people with no means of warmth, and had them serving soup and hot glögg, broken out of the castle stores, to anyone who came in trying to warm up. As for himself and the castle guards, they formed a "task force" which went into the city itself to keep the roads clear of snow, and, once that was done, went about spreading the word about the shelter, handing out the cloaks to whoever needed one, and generally maintaining order.

All in all, the prince was doing well. He kept a level head and issued an aura of calmness and control which kept people from panicking. Many of the citizens were already growing to respect him for how "take-charge" he had been of the situation and was able to maintain order in a very uncertain time, not to mention the care and compassion he was showing. Compared to certain other nobles who had arrived in Arendelle…it was a breath of fresh air.

At the moment, Hans was near the castle gates leading to the bridge, being a very public place, and handing out a fresh stack of newly-completed cloaks after making the latest announcement about the castle shelter. Two of the castle guards were assisting him with piles of their own. Naturally, they were all wearing ones of their own. Yet as he worked, the prince noticed someone coming through the castle gates. He looked to the guards as if he had to suppress a sigh at the sight. A moment later, he turned to another passing guard and gave him the stack, asking him to continue passing them out, before looking forward to who was coming.

It was the Duke of Weselton, his arms wrapped around himself, looking irate and miserable, and, as always, being flanked by his two bodyguards, who, although not wearing cloaks themselves, seemed indifferent to the entire thing.

"Prince Hans…" He practically scowled as he approached. "If you don't mind my tone, some of us are starting to wonder about what you plan to do about this weather!"

"I'm already doing everything I can." Hans responded. "Please, return to the castle."

The duke only scowled. "Do you really expect us to just sit around and freeze while you waste time giving away all of Arendelle's tradeable goods?"

Now, the prince's own gaze narrowed as he turned fully to face the duke.

"Princess Anna entrusted me as steward of Arendelle and trusts my judgment to care for her kingdom in her absence."

"Oh, come off it!" The duke snapped. "We all know there's one clear way to put an end to all of this-"

He was cut off a moment later, however, when Hans stepped forward…his own look turning about as cold as the weather, and his tone dark and warning.

"…As steward of Arendelle, I will act in the kingdom's best interest. That includes protecting it, and its royal family, from hostile nations."

Immediately, the duke's eyes widened.

"Treason will _not_ be tolerated." Hans finished.

Instantly, the scrawny man began to bluster. "Wha…wha…treason?!" He nearly shrank back at the accusation, once again looking to hide behind his two bodyguards.

Thinking that had quieted the man down, Hans nearly turned away, when suddenly one of the watchmen gave a call from the city gates.

"Prince Hans!"

The man looked up in response, as did many of the other surrounding guards and whatever citizens were out. The watchman at the gate pointed in the distance, toward the city's own northern gate.

"Princess Anna's horse!"

Immediately, the duke was forgotten as the prince took off for the city's gate. The guards instantly followed behind. After a moment of hesitation, even the duke and his men followed as well at a slower pace. Soon, they and whoever else had heard the news were rushing in that direction.

By the time Hans was in visual range of the wall and the open gate, the fjord horse was charging through it, clearly frantic and having been running hard for a while. However, even from a distance, Hans and the others with him saw that it had no rider. That immediately sent a chill through their hearts. As for Hans, he ran forward to intercept the horse as it came in. At first, he looked to trample right over him.

"Whoa! Whoa!" He called as he held his hands up. "Easy, boy! Easy!"

Luckily, the horse seemed rather well mannered. At first it slowed to a stop and gave a buck and a whinny when Hans came in front of it. However, he continued to talk softly to the mount, taking it slow, and his smooth voice managed to calm the animal down enough to stop prancing and stand on four hooves. When that happened, the prince moved in and gently took the bridle for control, and then looked over the back of the horse.

There was no sign of Anna, and no clue as to where she had gone. The only thing that was clear was that the horse was rather cold, a layer of frost forming on its coat. It had to have been wandering around for a while, having lost its own way, before charging back to the town it knew. Either that…or it had come from a place colder than this part of Arendelle…

Hans looked to the horse for a moment, before he looked out in the direction it had come… For most of the way, there was nothing but forest and rolling hills. Any one of a million places in which Anna could now be, perhaps still walking…perhaps freezing in a hole somewhere… However, he did notice one thing that was different. Far above and beyond the hills, the North Mountain rose, framed against the sky like a picture. A great white peak, always covered with snow, even in summer from what he had heard…

_Could it be…?_

At any rate, the horse had come from that direction. Anna had to be out there somewhere…

After a moment, he looked back to the guards that had gathered, his face growing grim.

"Princess Anna is in danger." He stated. "I'm going out after her. And I'm putting out a call for any volunteers that wish to accompany me."

There was a pause only for a moment, before a few of the guards began to walk forward, raising their hands and giving calls. However, one voice in particular sounded out above them all and gained Hans' attention: the duke's.

"I volunteer two men!"

The prince looked up briefly in response to that, seeing the duke still standing at a distance, and the two bodyguards at his side. He had little doubt that those were the two he had in mind. For a moment, he stared back. They didn't seem to be affected by the cold, and they seemed stronger than most…but he didn't care for their dark looks, or the duke's own avaricious one. At any rate, for the moment, he said nothing and turned back to the guards who were coming forward.

When he did, the duke spoke in a voice so quiet only the two bodyguards could hear.

"You are to end this winter by any means necessary. If you should encounter the queen…you know what to do."

* * *

The latest "change of scenery" was beginning to make Kristoff more than a little nervous.

A couple hours ago, he had given Anna the rather bad news when she had tried to point the way to Elsa's…and he responded by pointing her hand up higher, revealing the full height of the North Mountain. To be honest, he had never tried to climb it all the way before. Even to someone experienced like him, it was a highly technical challenge. And most people who would try to climb it in the dead of winter had a special name for them: idiots. The only thing stupider than trying to climb it all the way would be to climb it trying to take a greenhorn, a reindeer, and a…well, seeing as Olaf appeared to be fairly indestructible so long as it stayed cold out, perhaps it wasn't so bad with him.

Although they weren't to the "bad" parts yet, and it was getting colder and the air thinner as they continued to climb higher. He was glad it wasn't storming or even blowing hard, or else they'd really be in trouble. As it was, both he and Anna were having to take things progressively slower.

Yet what was really freaking him out now was as they ascended the mountain, they same to some "hills".

Namely, they were snow and ice covered hills that looked like they had been in an especially bad storm…one that had violently whipped the snow and ice past them in a freezing gale as it had broken. The end result was that there were pretty much horizontal "ice covers" over each of the hills, with the wind having swept several-foot-long icicles out straight into deadly stakes that were sharp as spears on the end. And right now…they were wandering right through the midst of this icy hazard, surrounded on either side by it. Where before the scene had been lovely, this was of a much darker nature. Realizing that the same woman who made the pleasant trees had made this little "valley of death" was beginning to make Kristoff a bit fearful about what kind of person this queen was. After all…she was the one who froze everything in the first place…

It didn't help that even Anna, who Kristoff realized by now had tireless enthusiasm and a sunny glow about her that seemed to be insulating her from cold far better than her new attire, was beginning to look a tad on the uneasy side herself.

As he uneasily stepped a bit to the right to avoid one ice spike, Kristoff cleared his throat a bit. "So…what exactly is your plan for ending this winter once we get to the top of the North Mountain?"

Anna turned her head a bit, seemingly distracted from staring at the landscape. "Oh…" She smiled proudly afterward. "I'm going to talk to my sister."

Kristoff turned to her with an incredulous stare. "_That's_ your plan? My ice business is running on you making things up with your sister?"

"Don't be silly." Anna reassured. "It'll be fine. Trust me."

Kristoff would have said something in response, only he froze a moment later. With his head turned, he had run right into one of the sharper icicles, and he found his nose pressed to one side on the tip, nearly enough to break the skin. Swallowing, he moved himself off of the ice and kept his head forward.

"I don't suppose you have a backup plan in case, I don't know…" He looked around nervously at the icicles. "I mean, what if she's not exactly 'happy' to see you? You _did_ get into an argument with her…and look how that ended up. Are you sure she's going to feel like talking?"

The princess hesitated for a fraction of a second, her expression showing she hadn't thought of that before…but now it was a very real thought to her. However, she merely laughed a bit later…and a bit uneasily. "Heh…of course! I mean…" She looked around at the ice herself, and seemed to lose more of her smile. "Why…why wouldn't she?"

"Yeah!" Olaf cheered from below as he turned his head to look to them. "I'll bet she's the nicest, friendliest, warmest person you've ever met!"

The snowman stopped after saying that, noticing he wasn't going anywhere. He looked forward, and saw that he had walked straight onto one of the icicles, leaving his head and mid-body suspended on it while his legs had kept walking forward, and now dully ran into the frozen hill nearby before toppling over. He turned back up to the others with a grin.

"Oh look! I've been impaled."

* * *

The group continued to make their ascent. Naturally, the air grew thinner and colder as they made their way up, Kristoff pushing them along as they went. Sven could go anywhere he could, and Olaf didn't seem to tire. But Anna was actually holding up pretty well. She was panting and wheezing at points, but she didn't slow down or shout for them to stop. She didn't take breaks unless Kristoff called them out, and she continued to move onward as soon as he said they were going. The mountain man, to be honest, was impressed. He could tell she was getting red faced and tired at many points, obviously not in the same physical shape as him, and yet she didn't give up. He had seen a lot of fully-grown men who would have quit a long time ago or whined for a breather twice as many times.

As the tree line slowly faded and gave way to bare mounds of ice, Kristoff was forced to admit to himself that he had been wrong about his first impressions of Anna. She might have been nobility, but she was far from weak in body, spirit, or will. If she had a bit more muscles, she might make a decent "iceman"…

At long last, as the sun passed its zenith and began to go down again, drawing near enough to the horizon to start changing the colors of the day from blue to darker blue, the group finally began to see peaks of smaller mountains rising around them. By now, they should have been freezing, but considering all of the climbing they were doing, they were trapping so much heat in their clothes that they had to resist the temptation to actually strip some layers. After another thirty minutes, most of the mountaintops were at their level or lower. Their current one, however, only kept on rising, and so they kept ascending.

After a bit longer, the group finally came to a halt. Olaf waddled on a bit farther, but Kristoff and Anna let him. They, along with Sven, were looking up to their newest obstacle. Stretching before them was a towering wall of rock and ice that was practically sheer and vertical. Both gaped for a moment at it.

"Whoa…" Anna remarked.

Kristoff looked a bit farther, and then exhaled as he lowered his head and turned to Sven. He walked over and began to remove the rope and ice axe from it. "Well…I guess that means I go on from here."

The young woman turned to him instantly. "What?"

Kristoff didn't look back as he claimed the gear. "There's only one rope and you can't climb."

As he began to turn around, he heard a scuttling of rock, before her heard a grunting as well.

"And who…ugh…says I can't?"

He turned fully around at that, and soon both he and Sven were giving dull looks at what they saw. Anna had already gotten ahold of the rock face and was now grunting and straining as she tried to climb it.

Keeping up on a hike was one thing…but rock climbing was _definitely_ not the realm of a "tenderfoot".

"…What are you doing?" He stated flatly.

"Isn't it…urk…obvious? I am…unh…going…er…to see my sister!"

Kristoff's look didn't change. "You're _going_ to kill yourself."

"Ugh…shows what…ah…you know…uhn!"

The mountain man thought for a moment of intervening…but then he decided this was too much fun. He simply crossed his arms and stared at her. "Uh-huh." He simply answered. "Don't put your foot there."

Anna's foot soon slipped off where it rested. She gasped a bit, but then began to raise it again.

"Or there." Kristoff added, right before it slipped off again.

"Grr…would you…ugh…stop…urk…distracting me?"

"A little bit harder than it looks, huh?"

Anna didn't answer. She continued to sweat and strain and claw about for about thirty seconds more, all while both Kristoff and Sven patiently stood, watched, and waited. Finally, her strength beginning to fail, Anna ended up dangling from one bit of rock and panting, catching her breath. After doing so for a few moments, she sighed.

"Alright…how am I doing?" She called.

Kristoff didn't answer…just tried not to chuckle again. If she had managed to climb just one more foot…she might have gotten as high as she was tall. As it was, Kristoff could walk right up to her and touch her. After a moment, he did snicker a bit and shook his head before uncrossing his arms and walking up to her. "Hang on…" He said with an eye roll…but also a smile on his face.

He had just managed to reach her when the voice of Olaf rang out. "Uh, guys?"

Both Kristoff and Anna turned their heads, and saw, far to the left side of the rock face, on what appeared to just be a bit of snow, there was actually a space that went around and under a small rock arch, apparently leading to another side. Olaf was looking out of it now at them.

"I don't know if this helps…but I found a staircase going exactly where we need to go."

Anna looked that way for a moment, and then smiled. "Oh, really? I'll be right down!" She took one step back the way she came…and immediately slipped on a patch of ice, lost her grip, and, with a look of shock, began to fall off of the rock wall. Kristoff saw her coming, however, and instinctively reached out his arms. A moment later, the young woman landed right in them. It wasn't exactly the "hardest catch" in the world, especially since Anna probably would have been just fine falling on her own.

Nevertheless, after landing, Kristoff felt a little warmer in the cheeks in spite of having walked in cold weather all day. Anna herself looked to him, and actually hesitated a bit, her own cheeks pinking for a moment, before she quickly undid herself and sprang out of his arms and to the snow. "Hey…uh, thanks! Good catch!" She said to him, clearly having no idea how far she had fallen, and beginning to walk after Olaf. Kristoff continued to stand and stare for a moment, not really realizing how long he was doing so until Sven came over and nudged him with an antler.

At that, he turned to the reindeer, who seemed to have an odd smirk on his face as he walked on. Kristoff blinked, but then shrugged. "What?"

Sven "said" nothing, just kept walking as his eyes turned upward.

The group soon made their way through the short tunnel, which was just large enough to fit Sven through. On the other side, they saw a separate path leading up the mountain from another cardinal direction. A bit longer and steeper, but it eventually flattened out for the most part on this stretch of snowy ground. To one side, the rocky hill that Anna had just tried to climb rose up high, forming almost a wall of rock. Beyond that, it flattened out a bit, save for one boulder, before reaching a sight that nearly made Kristoff's jaw drop. Even knowing that the queen could bring winter and snowmen to life, he had never seen or dreamed of anything like this.

The most beautiful, pure, and perfect piece of ice he had ever seen in his life stood before him. In the slowly setting sun, it shone out like a blue diamond. A perfect, flawless, and clean set of ice stairs spanned a deep chasm that rounded whatever part of this area wasn't the path to a magnificent palace made completely out of ice. It was symmetrical and proper in every way. Like the "magic" he believed was in ice had come to life in the form of this structure. Or something out of a dream or fantasy.

He managed to avert his eyes long enough to look to Anna for a moment, and saw she was as captivated as he was. Clearly, she had never expected to encounter anything like this: a palace of ice fit for a queen. She was speechless as she looked at it.

As it turned out, Olaf was the one who led the way. As he merrily waddled along, he waved to them. "Come on! Let's go meet Anna's sister! I bet she'll invite us in!" His last phrase echoed loudly as he reached the stairs and began to ascend them, hopping one stair at a time.

Soon after, Anna gathered herself together and began to follow. It was a bit harder for her. She had to take the steps more slowly, and make use of the rails. After all, they were pure, flawless ice, and as such not very heavy on friction for walking. Sven soon bounced up behind her as Kristoff neared. He immediately began to climb up, but only got about five steps into it before he slipped. After doing so, he tried to get up again, only to slip and fall down again. Now frowning a bit, he tried to get back up, either to ascend or descend, but couldn't get his hooves underneath him.

Soon, the mountain man arrived and took his rear end. "Come on, buddy. I got you."

With his help, Sven managed to rise again and step down enough to get his legs back in the snow. After that, Kristoff helped him back off more until he was once again in the snow. Once that happened, the young man moved in front of him and motioned downward.

"Alright…wait here until we come back." He told him. Then, after a moment, he added. "…And just in case you hear anything come up, head to the bottom of the mountain as fast as you can."

Sven answered by putting his rear end down, rather like a dog might. Kristoff, however, trusted him, and soon turned back and grabbed the rails himself to start heading up.

After a bit of a nerve-wracking climb, for slipping on ice while suspended over a chasm wouldn't exactly be the greatest thing in the world, he reached the ground on the other side and caught up to Anna just as she ascended the last few steps to the threshold. Right before them both was a massive set of ice doors, so clean and pure that, even frosted, you could almost see right through them. As Kristoff arrived, she walked on ahead to the doorway, while he came to a stop near Olaf. She reached them a moment later and held up her hand.

Yet once there, she hesitated. Kristoff saw her head bow, as if she was thinking of something…or remembering something.

"Knock." Olaf said cheerfully, waving his hands forward. After no answer or response for a few moments, he beckoned again. "Go on, knock." After a few more moments, he turned his head slightly to Kristoff. "…She's not knocking." He whispered, yet still more than loud enough for Anna to hear in the quietness. "…Do you think she knows how to knock?"

The young woman, who seemed to have ignored all of this until now, finally swallowed, drew her head up, and knocked on the door. Moments later, there was a large groaning of ice on ice as the door slid open a bit. Kristoff was a bit surprised…but it seemed Anna was far more so, actually snapping back a bit.

"It…opened." She stated, before giving a nervous laugh. "That's a first…"

Kristoff wasn't sure what this meant, but began to step forward. However, when that happened, Anna immediately turned around and held her hands up.

"Wait…I want to go in alone." She stated. "The last time I brought a guy to meet her…it didn't end well."

The young man's face instantly fell as if Anna had just said the mountains were melting. He hadn't heard anything that disappointing since…well, since yesterday when he saw his sleigh burst into flames. "Oh…you've got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed. He gestured in front of him. "Look at this place! It's a palace made of ice! Ice is my _life!_"

"I know, I know…" Anna answered in an apologetic tone, before turning her head a bit. "…Please?"

The mountain man held a bit longer. He had done a lot of the work in guiding Anna here, and one might think he deserved something in return. However, he wasn't too sore about that. Just sore about missing out on his chance to see what the inside of the place looked like. In the end, he exhaled in a defeated sigh, and resigned himself to it. He didn't like the idea of pushing this on Anna just to make her upset… "Fine." He said as he glumly turned around to seat himself on the front step.

"Alright, let's head in!" The snowman cheered as he began to waddle forward.

He soon found himself stopped as Anna reached over and picked him up, arresting his progress. "You too, Olaf."

Immediately, his own perpetually happy face formed its first real look of sadness since they had met. As she set him back down, he sagged a bit in disappointment at being denied the chance to literally "meet his maker". At any rate, once he was down as well, Anna began to near the door, again holding up her hands as she passed through the crack.

"Just…give us a minute, ok?"

Hearing that, Olaf managed a slight smile and a nod. "Ok."

Anna smiled back, and then slipped in and shut the door behind her.

As she did, Olaf turned and began to sit next to the glum-looking Kristoff, before whispering to himself. "One… Two… Three…"

Kristoff said the "three" at the same time as him.

* * *

Inside was even more unbelievable than outside.

It was just as cold in the interior, which was to be expected from the entire place being made of ice, but it looked to Anna as if it was flawless blue glass. The floor she walked across was so perfect it was like a frozen pond, or even a looking glass. Ahead of her, there were two circling staircases leading up more icy steps to a balcony, which connected from there behind to another rising circular staircase that she could just see through the ice walls. The walls and archways were all elegant architecture, finer even than the castle, and in the center of the room for décor there was a fountain that seemed to "spray" ice so fine that it looked almost like mist rising from it in descending layers. Anna was almost enraptured…and in total disbelief.

_Elsa made all of this in two days… I had no idea…_

She slowly ventured in further, taking all of this in, ignoring the puffs her breath made in the palace. She was too busy looking at everything about her being reflected in the columns, the panels, the floors, and just seeing all of the wonderful constructs of ice about her as she neared the right arm of the stairs.

Yet she soon heard the most welcome sound of all.

"Anna?"

Immediately, she turned her head up, and found herself looking at the balcony. She nearly gaped again at what she saw.

"Elsa…?"

She hardly recognized her sister now. She had never seen her dress so…loosely. Clad in a shimmering gown of what Anna assumed was more ice. How could she even wear such a thing? And it was so thin…indicating that Elsa wasn't the least bit cold in this place. Yet her face seemed more animated. And her hair…so wild and free… Even though Elsa stood with her hands folded and looking down at her, Anna had never seen her look so "alive". She seemed years younger now…

"You've…you've changed." She said in a stunned moment. Realizing how that sounded, she immediately shook her head. "But I like it! I mean, it's a _good_ change!"

Then Elsa did something else that helped relax Anna more. She actually smiled and gave a small laugh. "Thank you."

The princess gestured around her. "Elsa…you made all of this?"

She nodded.

"It's amazing! I've never seen anything like it…"

Elsa, in turn, looked up and around herself. "I never knew what I was capable of…until now. All I have to do is think of how I want it to look and…I just feel it come out and telling my hands how to move to make it…"

Anna smiled back for a moment, until Elsa looked back at her. After that, she began to advance again, and soon reached the stairs. Grabbing the railing, she began to step up. "Listen…I want to apologize for back at the party. I didn't mean to-"

However, on seeing Anna rising to her, Elsa suddenly recoiled a step, as if a fear or dread had come over her. "No…" She seemed to say, more out of instinct than anything. it surprised Anna enough to stand where she was. Elsa kept her hands up, however. "It's ok…I forgive you. But…" She paused, and then put her hands down again. "…You should probably go now."

Anna's look turned to confusion. "…Go? But…I just got here. I came here to find you. I came here to bring you home."

Elsa exhaled a bit, and gestured around her. She gave a wistful smile. "This _is_ my home now, Anna. I don't get cold. I even found out I don't need to eat unless I want to. My power…I don't know…keeps me from 'burning anything'… You belong in Arendelle."

"So do _you_." Anna added, taking another few steps as she did so.

Elsa opened her mouth to protest, but neither she nor Anna got a chance to say anything else before an excited voice rang out in progressively growing volume.

"Fifty-eight… Fifty-nine… Sixty!"

Suddenly, the door swung open again, and as Anna turned, Olaf was happily bounding in, waving up the stairs to Elsa as he ran over to where Anna had begun to climb. "Hi! I'm Olaf! And I like warm hugs!"

He managed to make much better time on the ice floor than the younger sister had. As he began to rise to where Anna was, Elsa gaped in surprise.

"Olaf…? That's…that's you?"

He soon came to a stop at Anna's level. "Well…yeah." He answered. "You built me, remember?"

The queen continued to stare. "And…you're _alive_?"

Olaf looked down and over himself for a moment, and then gave a nod as he looked up. "Yeah…I think so."

Elsa raised her hands again…hands that neither she nor Anna had seen much of in years. She stared at them in disbelief for a moment. Anna realized, at that point, Elsa had no idea about this. Making the castle had been one thing…but actually being able to _make life_ was something unbelievable. Elsa was indeed the "snow queen"…but perhaps it would have been more accurate to call her the "snow _goddess_" at this point. If she could actually make Olaf come to life without even realizing it…something so casual…

However, the young woman smiled and bent down next to Olaf, putting an arm around him. "He's just like the one we built when we were kids."

Elsa looked up again at that. For a moment…Anna saw something in her change. A glimmer. When Anna mentioned "when we were kids", it seemed like something struck her. The princess knew what. It was just like when she saw Olaf herself for the first time…when there were no locked gates or years of isolation…just two young girls playing happily…who were everything to one another… For a moment, Elsa's defensive stance dropped completely.

"We used to be best friends, Elsa. We can be that way again…"

The queen hesitated. As Anna looked, she began to see a new smile starting to appear on her face, one of a happy memory. She saw her give a bit…and, for a moment, she thought she'd actually come down.

But before she could, her pupils shrank, and her smile vanished. She held a moment, as if she was remembering something painful…and scary to her. Suddenly, she snapped out of it and recoiled again.

"No…no we can't." She flatly answered, before beginning to turn. "Goodbye, Anna." She threw out before moving through the entryway and making for the second set of stairs.

The princess immediately rose. "Elsa, wait!" She called. Leaving Olaf behind, she began to run after her. "Don't do this again! Don't shut me out this time! It doesn't have to be like that anymore! I know now! I know why you closed yourself up in your room all this time! You were scared of your power and that no one would ever understand it!"

As Anna was able to reach the balcony, Elsa paused and looked behind her from the transparent wall, already halfway up the stairs. She gave a strained sigh. "Anna…that's not it alone. You saw what happened when the duke came near me at the party… I could hurt you…"

"You were scared and it was an accident!" Anna insisted as she continued to climb after her. Elsa, on her part, sighed and continued to go up, but Anna continued to follow. "But I'm not afraid of you! I'm your sister and I'll be by your side from now on! Anything they say back in Arendelle…no matter how angry or confused they might be…we can face it together! We can clear everything up and then you can come home!"

Elsa was slowing with each step as Anna continued to talk to her, but she still managed to stay ahead all the way up the second set of stairs as she opened a new set of ice doors and walked into a beautiful "upper terrace" that had a snowflake etching against the ground, a wide, open window with a beautiful view of the mountain landscape, and an elegant ice chandelier hanging overhead. By the time Anna had caught up to her, she saw her almost in the middle of the room, clutching for her chest. Even if she wouldn't admit it, Anna could tell Elsa was more than conflicted about this. She knew a part of her wanted to come home…

As she followed her inside, she called out again. "You won't be alone again. Not anymore. I'll be right here."

The queen swallowed. She quivered a bit, as if in pain, before she sharply inhaled and looked back to her.

"Anna…it's not that simple. I wish it was. I wish to God it was, but it's not." She held a moment, and then gave a weak, yet encouraging, smile. "Anna…go on home to Arendelle." She gestured out. "You have a great life ahead of you. Waiting for you." She stammered, and then gestured more. "Open up the gates. Have as many parties as you want. You'll be happy. And I'm…" She hesitated a bit, but then, as if steeling her resolve, she straightened herself up more and made her smile bigger. "And I'm happy here. Sure, I'm still alone…but…I spent my entire life alone. Hiding. Doing what everyone told me to do. Not just my powers, Anna. Always having to obey rules around the other nobles. Never able to speak what I thought of them even if I knew they were cheating mom and dad. Never able to act like myself around the young princes because they'd know I was smarter and more mature than them when I was supposed to be some pretty face for them to think about marrying when I got older so they could have a share of the country…"

She turned away again and began to walk closer to the window. Anna began to follow her again.

"You see that out there, Anna? It's a world all to myself. It's a world I can survive in and reign without anyone telling me 'no'. 'It isn't proper'. 'It isn't how a queen should behave'. And especially 'conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show'. I might be alone…but I'm alone and _free_. Free to be myself. Free to use my power as much as I want to make whatever I want. Do you have _any_ idea how good it feels to just let my power flow up here? It's like I've unchained my soul!" She paused and exhaled. "Just…just go home and be happy. You can rest knowing I'm up here and happy too. And you, and everyone else in Arendelle, will be safe from me and my power."

On hearing that, Anna began to realize something. Apparently, Elsa knew a _lot_ less about her powers than apparently _she_ knew. She swallowed a bit and winced.

"Um…technically we're not."

At once, Elsa turned around to face her again. "…What do you mean?"

"I…get the feeling you don't know…"

The queen turned fully to look at her. "'What don't I know?"

Anna swallowed a bit. She realized saying this was going to justify all of Elsa's fears, but she didn't really have a choice at this point. Squeezing it out, she confessed. "Arendelle…is about in eight feet of snow right now…and it looks like you kind of set off an eternal winter…the worst on record. Like…arctic level. The fjord is completely frozen and no one has been able to leave."

Elsa's already wan pallor suddenly seemed to turn as white as the snow she generated. Her mouth began to quiver while her eyes enlarged to the size of plates. "Wh…what?" She slowly exhaled, in a mixture of disbelief…and horror. Anna began to hear the wind pick up a bit around them…and she realized it was happening again. Elsa was getting deathly afraid…

Quickly, she offered a weak smile as flakes began to fall in the room. "But that's ok!" She instantly stated. "All you have to do is fix it and everything will be alright!"

Elsa's look only grew more horrified as the flakes began to fall more steadily and the wind picked up. "I _can't _just 'fix it'!" She shot back. "I don't know _how!_ I don't even know how I did it!"

"Sure you can!" Anna responded. "I know you can!" She said this even as the wind began to sting a bit and started to knock up the flakes.

As for Elsa, she grabbed her side in frustration and turned away. "Damnit! I'm such a fool! I can't even live free! This is why dad always told me to hold it in!" She cried as she started to walk again, the snowfall increasing enough to be steady white mist and now sweeping around in a snowstorm level.

Holding out her hand, Anna tried to approach again. "Look, we can figure this out! You've only had this gift for two days!"

The queen grasped her face with her hands, bending over as the storm began to approach blizzard level, and Anna couldn't even see out the window anymore. "Don't call it that! It's a _curse!_ And I can't control it!"

"Elsa…just calm down! I'm here…! I'm here to work with you!"

"Anna, please!" She shouted back over the rising gale. "You're only making it worse!"

By now, Anna couldn't even keep her eyes open by a crack, and the wind was tugging so furiously at her cloak that it threatened to knock her over. But still, she wouldn't back up. She couldn't. This was her sister!

"I'll help you! I know you can do it!"

"No I can't!" Elsa shot back, the storm only intensifying, and her own passion building.

"Yes you can!"

The storm suddenly turned to a whiteout as she could hear actual anger on Elsa's voice.

"No…_I…CAN'T!"_

As she said this last part, she snapped around, and all of the snow and wind was immediately drawn out of the air, sucked into her own body…and then exploded out radially, sending out blasts of cold mist like lances of ice in all directions…

One of which sailed straight to Anna's chest region and pierced the area right over her heart.

Instantly, the young woman let out a gasp as what felt like an icy knife pierced her…and she couldn't breathe or move. At once, she lost all of her strength as her eyes closed and she collapsed to the floor.

Elsa, who had only turned slightly, began to breathe heavy and deep, her hands balled into fists at her sides and seething. However, after a moment of not hearing Anna's voice, she turned to look…and let out a small gasp of her own. She saw that after falling to the ground, Anna had nevertheless seemed to instinctively pull her hands around her chest.

In Elsa's mind, a terrible, _terrible _fear infinitely worse than the eternal winter she had set off ran through it…

But then, Anna felt the pain ease. She still felt "sore" in that region, but it was leaving quickly. Exhaling a bit, she began to breathe more easily. Although she felt a tad weak, she started to spread out her hands to push herself up. She didn't see it, but Elsa eased just slightly on seeing this. However, her fear still remained, now at what she had nearly done…

And as her fear lasted…the beautiful ice walls began to slowly be "infected" with a darker shade of ice. A "crackling", loud, deep, and resonating through the entire chamber, the entire palace even, began to come out as what looked like frozen darkness started to slowly slip into the columns, the floor…everywhere…

Soon, however, she heard a new sound. This one of larger, heavier footsteps. As Anna's eyes began to flutter open, she looked toward the door, and saw Kristoff suddenly burst through it. His face was full of more concern than he had shown since they had met. He looked briefly to Elsa…before making sure to give her a wide berth as he ran to Anna's side. On reaching her, he moved his hands out to help her up. "Anna? Are you alright? What happened? I hear yelling…"

"I'm…I'm fine." She managed to say after a moment, reaching out to take Kristoff's hands before he began to pull her up to her feet. However, one she stood, she stared at Elsa. Her look was no longer as warm as it had been before. It was more anxious…more disbelieving. Kristoff looked to her, and then to Elsa…and he immediately knew the truth. The reason for the look. What Anna had said had been wrong. Elsa had struck her…

"Who's this?" The queen asked after a moment, still catching her breath as the crackling expanded. By now, Kristoff was hearing it clearly too, and began to look around and see the changes. Elsa, however, shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Just…go."

Anna herself kept her look, but also stepped forward again. "You're coming with us."

"No, I'm not. Leave me alone, Anna."

Kristoff himself was growing a bit nervous at the changes, and then looked back to the princess. "Anna…maybe we should do as she says…"

"No!" Anna retorted, taking another step. "I can help you!"

_"How?!"_

That single word seemed to echo through the entire chamber...and made Anna halt in her step again. Elsa looked to her, her face strained with agony, fear, sadness, and desperation.

"What power do you have to stop this winter?! To stop _me?!"_

Anna stared back. She tried to think of something to say...but realized she didn't have anything. She could only stand there, stammering, trying to think of the right words...trying to think of anything...

"Leave, Anna." Elsa finally stated. "Now."

However, the young woman remained determined. "I'm not leaving here without you."

Elsa's look remained fixed for a moment, as if she had thought of something…but was nervous about actually using it. However, in the end, she broke and went forward.

"Yes, you _are_."

With that, the queen swept her hands forward at the space between the two, instantly summoning a snowy whirlwind of cold. In spite of Anna's attempt to go forward, Kristoff put his arms around her and pulled her back and away from it. As he did, both of them looked and saw pieces of snow and ice beginning to gather together in the whirlwind, being sucked into it rapidly and deposited on the floor. And as they were, something quickly began to take shape…

What looked like an irregular mound of snow started to enlarge, as if it was literally rising through the floor. It was lumpy, but thick, almost looking more like a great white rock than a snow pile. And as it came out, it began to form other pieces of snow on the side of it, like massive, irregular limbs and feet. At this, Anna began to realize what this was…

Another snowman…or, in this case, snow "creature".

This one was _definitely_ not one she had helped Elsa build.

As the whirlwind died down, this thing was more like a "snow ogre". It easily towered ten feet in the air and probably higher. It was mostly pure snow in terms of what it was made of, only with elephant-like feet with "kneepads" or 'knee bones" of jagged ice, and his joints seemed to be connected with an underlying skeleton of ice. The face was not in the least bit happy and friendly like Olaf's. Rather, it had a thick neck and a head protruding rather than sitting on top of it, with two holes for eyes…ones that could crease in anger, no less…and a cavernous mouth that had a very "grumpy" look about it. This thing now obscured Elsa, and turned right to Anna and Kristoff…

It didn't seem to need commands. Just like Olaf had "known" he was supposed to be "Olaf" when he was made, this snow ogre seemed to know what it's purpose was as it started to resound with massive steps while approaching the two…

* * *

Anna wasn't exactly sure what happened over the next minute. Only that the snow "thing" was faster than it looked, because before she had a chance to react she had been picked up along with Kristoff and none-too-gently thrown over its shoulder. Immediately, it stomped downstairs and snatched up Olaf as well. In spite of him cheerily waving at the snow ogre and giving his customary greeting, the monster neither seemed happy to see him nor in the mood to be giving any "warm hugs". It also didn't seem to care a lot when Anna started squirming and fighting, pounding away at its snowy body and insisting on being put down. Before she knew it, the door to the palace was being kicked open.

"Let me go, you oversized snowball!" Anna shouted as she continued to beat ineffectually on it. "I'm not done talking to my sister!"

"**Go away."** The snow ogre thundered in response before simply seizing both Anna and Kristoff and tossing them away from the entrance. Fortunately for them, the creature didn't throw them into the chasm, but just the same they found themselves landing rather roughly and painfully on the staircase before they began to slide down it for a rather hard and uncomfortable ride all the way back to the bottom and into the snow there. Anna, in spite of having a rather sore rear end at the end of that, managed to rise rather quickly, both out of anger as well as indignity. Kristoff did so a bit more slowly, and looked around to see that Sven had already gone. Either he had done as he was told when he heard the yelling, or as soon as the monster had growled the first time.

Anna, on her part, snapped back to the entrance, now framed in the setting sun, and saw Olaf leaping around at the bottom of his colossal "cousin". "You see, she and her sister have some issues to work out and-"

He was cut off a moment later when the snow ogre snatched him up and flung him away with such force that he split into two parts, his head and his body. His head soon sailed past both Anna and Kristoff and smashed into the icy boulder near the front, face outward. Both turned to him in surprise, but he merely gave a shout of warning. "Watch out for my butt!"

The two looked back, and it was just in time for Anna to duck before the rest of Olaf smashed against the boulder a short distance from the head. On seeing this, however, the princess' anger only flared. Immediately, she scooped her hands out and gathered together an amount of snow and compressed it into a ball. Standing back up, she began to rear back.

"It is _not nice _to _throw_ people!"

Yet before she could loose the snowball, Kristoff quickly went over and held her back. "Hey, hey! It's ok!" He immediately answered in an attempt to reassure her. "Just let it go! Don't make the oversized snowman mad…"

Anna held a moment, but then relented, her hands falling even as she continued to glare at the snow beast on top of the stairs. Finally, with a huff, she turned and began to walk away. Kristoff followed for a moment…only to see Anna suddenly snap back up and throw the snowball as soon as she was clear.

The snow ogre stood there with the same grumpy look as he watched the tiny snowball rise into the air, above the stairs, and gracefully arc until it made contact with the side of his body, obliterating in a completely ineffectual manner into a bit of powder.

Instantly, his back erupted into "bony" ice spikes, razor-sharp nails of ice exploded from his hands, and he looked to Anna with such inconceivable rage that his face deformed and blasted out frost as he roared in a voice that echoed up and down the mountain range for miles.

Kristoff let out a groan…and a whine…as Anna began to pale, her own anger evaporating. "There, you see? You made him angry!"

"You guys take off!" Olaf called from his position. "I'll distract him!"

The two didn't need any more warning, instantly snapping around and bolting down the trail. As they did, however, Olaf watched as his body also snapped off and began to run as well. However, not having a head, the end result was to wander about in circles.

"Not you!" He shouted. "Get back here!"

As for the snow ogre, it tore down the stairs with a murderous look on its twisted face far faster than one would think possible. Somehow, the rather fragile-looking floating staircase managed to hold it not only during this stamping, but when it had gone down halfway and then leapt across the rest of the chasm, sending out a thunderous impact when it crashed on the ground, Olaf made a few ineffectual attempts to distract it before it charged after the two once again.

Anna and Kristoff, on the other hand, were running down this side of the mountain as fast as they could. They didn't have time to pace their breathing or to watch their footing. They merely ran down the path. Their pursuer wasn't being tied up by the snow at all. Each monstrous footstep it took seemed to slam it into the ice like an anchor, and even if it was a bit slower each monstrous stride easily surpassed the distance that the two were able to take in a short time. They both looked behind themselves fearfully as they ran on, seeing the monstrous snow ogre continuing to close in on them with each step, flashing its talons of ice out at them and looking positively enraged. Anna nearly felt like shouting out at it: "Come on, it was only _one_ snowball!" Yet before she could say anything else, both she and Kristoff found the ground giving way before them before their stomachs were pushed up into their lungs as they dropped.

Both looked forward and cried out as they realized they had not been paying attention to the slope…and had stepped off of a veritable white cliff. One that stretched rather high. Luckily for them, it was still a slope, although if Arendelle had skiing it would likely have been one that was more "advanced" as they slid down such a sheer, frictionless expanse of snow, it seemed as if they would be able to "hover" off of it after a second. However, after sliding down a considerable distance, the snow began to slope upward again, leveling out as they descended back into the tree line. Anna continued to cry out a bit more, before both she and Kristoff sailed off of an abrupt termination: a short, rocky cliff at the end. It was indeed rather like a ski jump, and soon her voice increased in volume again as they were both launched. Luckily, this one wasn't nearly as far, and soon they both came down and plopped in the snow.

Anna's heart was racing a mile a minute, even if the pain from earlier had lessened to being non-existent. Quickly, she began to push up.

Kristoff, however, was getting to his feet faster, and already looked behind him. After his eyes widened, he turned back to her and quickly took her arm, helping her to get up quickly. "Come on, we got to go! Don't stop!"

Anna didn't argue as she was helped up, but she had scarcely gotten to her feet and took a step before she found out why he wanted to keep going…as the ground shuddered behind them. She risked a look back, and saw that the snow ogre not only hadn't been content to let them flee at that point, but had _jumped_ down the entire cliff and landed at the base, just as monstrous and angry as ever as it flashed its claws and growled a blast of even more ice breath. It only let the two gain a bit more distance on it before it began to stomp after them.

Now, the two were running into a forest again, weighed down with more snow than ever. Some of the trees looked to be little more than odd white stakes as they ran through them. They had the advantage of a bit more air, a bit warmer temperature, and a downhill slope as they went. Not to mention the fact that the trees were close enough together to force the snow monster to run around a few of them to keep up. However, as they went on, it did indeed manage to keep up, and more than that start to slowly close the distance once again…

Anna realized that this thing wasn't going to "accept an apology" from her. She didn't know what madness had possessed Elsa to create it, but it wasn't interested in just chasing them off…but probably doing a lot worse. They had to do something to slow it down…

Then she ran by and saw it. One of the trees was bent over in a snow arch, much as the one she had landed under the day before had been. She could even hear it straining a bit underneath the snow load. It gave her an idea…one that she hoped worked. Abruptly, she stopped in her tracks near the tip. Kristoff kept running a bit farther, before he halted and snapped back around. "What are you doing?!"

The snow ogre, however, continued to stomp after them unabated. Seeing Anna stop only encouraged it to charge forward even faster straight for her…and straight for the tree trunk. Hoping this would be enough to make it recoil, Anna waited until the monster got even with it, almost near enough to reach out for her…

Then, with as much power as she could muster, she snapped her foot out and kicked the side of the trunk, causing a great deal of the snow on it to fall off. The end result was like a catapult had been cut. The tree, relieved of a great deal of its weight, began to snap back up, shaking off the rest in a blink of an eye, and soon shooting erect. Before the beast could realize what had happened, the trunk of the tree smashed into it so hard that part of its own body was compressed by the impact, and bits of snow from its own frame were knocked loose as it fell back and sprawled out on the ground.

Anna couldn't help but pause long enough to give a grin and a cheer to herself, but then she immediately turned and took off again. Kristoff only waited until she was alongside her before doing the same. As serious as that looked, she remembered Olaf could be freely decapitated without doing any lasting damage…which meant that thing would rebuild itself in just a few moments. Not only that, but if a snowball had turned it into a homicidal rage…she didn't like to imagine how angry it was going to be after that…

The two continued to shoot through the forest, letting gravity pull them farther and farther on as they tried to put as much distance as they could between them and the monster. Hopefully, by the time it got up, they'd be in the clear…although Anna doubted it. There was snow covering everything, after all. It could see their tracks easily… She never thought in a thousand years she would be wishing that it would be snowing even _more_ right now. Yet that was nothing compared to the next shock she received.

Abruptly, the tree line broke…and extended right to the edge of another cliff.

Both the princess and the mountain man had to quickly dig their feet in to keep themselves from letting inertia send them right over the edge. But when they did finally manage to slow down and halt, both of them got a good look over the cliff. Much to Anna's terror, they wouldn't be "sliding" down this one. It was a vertical rock face. There wasn't even a chance of climbing it like the last one she had encountered. There was nothing at all to grab onto…and it was so high that she actually saw a fog at the bottom almost obscuring where it landed.

"Oh no…" She murmured. "That's got to be a hundred feet…"

"_Two_ hundred…" Kristoff muttered aloud as he quickly began to remove the rope and the ice axe.

Even as he said this, far in the distance, a roar sounded from someone who was far too familiar for Anna's taste. She turned her head, and already saw trees in the distance rustling. Not from impact…more like someone was pressing against them as they came forward. Before the snow ogre had just walked normally. Now it was so mad it was going through everything in its way…

As she stared, she suddenly gave a bit of a gasp as she felt something tighten around her. She looked down and saw, while she was staring, Kristoff had already looped the rope around her and tied it. After that was done, he took up the ice axe and started to hack away at the thick snow on top of the cliff. He soon began to make a circular shape.

"What are you doing?"

"Digging a snow anchor." He answered as he finished. Moving quickly, he put the ice axe away and grabbed the other end of the rope. As the stomping grew louder and growling became audible, already half the distance closed, he quickly tied this end and looped it around what he had dug. He began to jam it in a moment later.

Anna, on her part, nervously looked over the edge again, then back to the mountain man. "Kristoff…what if we fall?"

"There's twenty feet of fresh powder down there." He said in between movements. "It'll be just like landing on a pillow…" He stated as he finished tucking the rope, before raising it up and making a loop around himself at last closer to Anna's end. "…I hope." He added as he quickly took up the rest, and "felt out" a bit as he inched closer to the cliff. Anna swallowed as she again looked over the side, then back to him.

"Don't look down." He warned.

_A little late…_ She thought with a mental whimper.

Three quarters of the distance was closed, and the monster was still coming through the trees. The two could actually hear them bending and cracking as it came.

"On three." Kristoff stated as he tightened up. "One…"

The stomping began to shake the ground. Flakes started to fall off the edge.

"Two…"

Abruptly, a massive ripping sound went out as well as what sounded like ice breaking. A moment later, to the shock of the mountain man, an entire uprooted tree trunk flew out of the line and right for them. It wasn't clear whether it had been cast or the monster had merely knocked it up in its wake, but in either case it was incoming.

On spotting it, Anna didn't wait any more as she jumped. "Three!" She called.

Kristoff snapped to her, seeing her already heading down, and barely managed to jump behind her before the mere force of her inertia pulled him over the edge, the tree smashing down where they had been moments later. In seconds, both of them were plummeting to the ground, the length of rope that Kristoff had already let off rapidly giving out and tightening as he solidified his grip on his end…

Then, after falling about the first twenty feet…the snow anchor snapped taut. Both Kristoff and Anna soon jerked to a halt, and the mountain man winced a bit as the force of both of their bodies tightened on one hand. If not for his multiple layers of hand protection, he might have just broke it. As it was, he grit his teeth and began to feel the rope, while swinging himself slightly forward. Soon, he managed to get in enough of a rhythm to begin rappelling down the rock cliff. Anna, on her part, struggled not to look down…but given her position that was all she could see. Instead, she quickly seized her end of the rope and turned herself skyward…trying not to think of the possibility of Kristoff's hasty knot loosening…

Up above, the tree line continued to shake and bend as the monster grew closer and closer. Yet just as it reached the last row of trees, another snow creature ran out…this one far smaller and less intimidating. Huffing and puffing, in a jumbled mess from what looked like a very hasty attempt at putting himself together, Olaf came half-waddling, half-staggering up to the others before halting.

"Phew…I'm all out of shape…" He gasped, before immediately going to work rearranging his pieces to put himself "back into shape". In moments he was done, but seemed oblivious to the trees bending behind him and the monster approaching. He soon waved and shouted. "Hey guys! Relax! We totally ditched 'Marshmallow' back there!"

Even as he said this, the snow ogre finished breaking through the tree line, still looking angry and snarling. As he stepped out onto the ground with a resounding thud, the smaller snowman turned to him with a smile.

"Oh…hi there! We were just talking about you!"

"Marshmallow" didn't seem to be too interested, and began to walk forward again. It's eyes…or, at least, it's eye sockets, were focused on the piece of rope tied to the snow. On seeing that, Olaf's own smile evaporated.

"Wait, no!" He yelled before running forward and seizing the snow ogre by the leg, clinging to his icy kneecaps with his stick arms. Immediately he began to grunt and pull and strain for all he was worth…which seemed to be absolutely nothing as the snow beast didn't even slow down as he stomped forward. He endured it for a few steps, but eventually pivoted his head down and gave a dark glare at the unwanted "passenger".

"This…really…isn't making a difference…is it?" Olaf said between each step somewhat weakly.

Snarling, the monster reared his foot back with Olaf still on it, and then furiously kicked out. Soon the snowman gave a cry before the force once again split him into his individual parts, before all of them went sailing over the edge of the cliff.

By now, Kristoff, who had been lowering them as fast as humanly possible, had only managed to descend the first hundred feet. Now, however, he and Anna both looked up, and were just in time to see Olaf's fragments go sailing by. Anna gasped and shouted in alarm. "Olaf!"

"Haaaaang…in…there…guuuuuuys…!" He managed to call as the various parts of his body flew by in something of a "cloud of Olaf", before they sank into the fog and growing darkness, from the setting sun, below. Although Anna thought she heard a bit of an "ow" arising from the bottom soon after.

Kristoff soon returned to his task and lowered once again. And granted, they were falling quickly. In no time at all, he had managed to take them both down to about a distance of only fifty feet left. Nervous and frightened as Anna was, she realized that they weren't far from being able to safely "jump" the rest of the way, snow or no snow. She only prayed mentally that the monster would let them go after that point and not jump after them again…

Yet even as she thought of this, she suddenly felt a sharp tug on the line as they froze in place, left suspended in midair for a moment. Anna instantly looked up and around in confusion…before she saw they were going up again. For a moment, she looked to Kristoff to shout at him for what was going on, only to find that he was trying to feel out the rope as fast as he could…and still going up. He also looked rather scared himself at the moment. Anna looked up a moment later to see why, and let out a gasp.

Low as they were, she could just make out white arms with icy claws yanking the length of rope back up the cliff.

Frantic, Anna began to go for the knot in her rope. But even if her hands weren't currently covered with mittens that she wasn't used to wearing and she had full use of her fingers, this knot had been made specifically so that she _couldn't_ accidentally pull it loose. A few moments later, she turned her head up and began to cry out. "Kristoff!"

She didn't say more than that, however. She was about to tell him to use his knife…but by that point not only were they out of rope and going back up the cliff faster than ever, they were already passing eighty feet…and now ninety. There was a good chance the result would be _splat_ at this point. Nevertheless, as the monster rapidly pulled them up past one hundred, one hundred and ten, and one hundred and twenty, he too started to realize it was either risk the powder or risk the monster. With that in mind, he struggled to reach for his boot, which held his hunting knife. Unfortunately, between the snow ogre's pulling and his own frantic movements, he was beginning to spiral around in circles. Even when Anna tried to steady it out, things only got worse.

As they went above one hundred and fifty feet and began to hear the grunting of the monster, Kristoff tried something new and tried to get himself undone from the rope. Yet they only went up about another twenty feet before the rope, shaking so much from the actions of the monster, swung him too hard back toward the rock face, and Anna actually winced when she heard his head make a solid "thunk" with the cliff. He gave out an aborted yell…before he went limp on the line.

"Kristoff!" Anna shouted again. He didn't react…and she honestly couldn't tell if that move had just knocked him out or done a bit worse… At any rate, as they closed to within twenty feet…she realized she was the only one at this point who could do anything. As quickly as she could, she began to choke up on her own line. Kristoff's boot was just hovering in front of her face…almost in range. Summoning strength she didn't know she had, she grit her teeth and pulled harder, trying to get up just a few feet more. Ten feet from the edge came, and she slowly inched her way up. Just as Kristoff's foot came within range, she managed to catch a glimmer of the knife handle. As Kristoff himself gave a dull moan and she was instants from grabbing it, however…the icy claws of the monster pulled them up the rest of the way past the edge…until they were looking right at its face. Kristoff weakly cracked open his eyes just in time to have his head hovering near Anna's as they both got a glimpse of its angry look.

Instantly, its mouth opened wide and roared as it breathed freezing cold frost over both of them.

"_**DON'T COME BACK!"**_

The two were left swaying from the simple act of him yelling, before Anna opened her now-frost-covered eyes and gave an innocent smile.

"We won't!"

Then, immediately, she seized the knife and yanked herself even higher to cut the rope above Kristoff's waist. Moments later, both of them were sent plummeting down the cliff.

The mountain man was still too out of it to say anything, but as Anna once again felt her insides "floating", she couldn't help but let out another scream as she fell. After all, there was a chance this might be the last sound she ever got to make. At least she went back first for the first part of the drop. Her gaze looked back toward the top of the cliff as the monster glared down at them. However, it merely snorted in satisfaction, gave a nod, and then turned to start walking back to the palace, vanishing from view.

_Oh yeah…you couldn't have done that just _one_ minute ago you oversized jerk? _She felt herself thinking with the last ounce of her fiery nature before her mind turned fully to the fact that she was possibly falling to her doom. The only worse thought was what if she _did _survive the fall? As her body began to spin around to go legs first, she began to wonder what it would feel like to have both of them snapped off or crushed, or what would happen if she bounced against the rock on the way down…or what about Kristoff? How was he doing after having already hitting his head? What about Olaf? But before she could fear anymore what might happen…she hit the bottom. Reflexively, her whole body seized up and her eyes closed as she felt force begin to impact against her…

There was a jarring feeling in her legs…the sensation of snow being driven into her boots, leggings, skirt, and…undergarments…before nothing.

The woman continued to wince for a moment, expecting to hear a splat or to suddenly find her soul severed from her body. However, she heard nothing except a breeze of icy wind. Her legs began to smart a bit from being in contact with snow, but other than that, nothing else. Slowly, she cracked her eyes open. She found she was up to her waist in the stuff, having plunged her legs completely into it…and her ears and head felt a bit cold. Apparently, sometime during the fall, she had lost her bonnet. Yet aside from that, she saw only a snowy expanse ahead of her leading into a thicker tree line, the shadow of the cliff hanging over her, and the sky slowly turning dark.

She sighed in relief, and then smiled and patted the ground. "Heh…just like a pillow!" She echoed. However, her mind soon clicked on repeating that. Where was Kristoff?

"Oh…oh no!"

Hearing that voice, she turned her head, seeing Olaf sitting in the snow…or, rather, his upper half in the snow, grabbing onto a pair of old boots poking out of it.

"I can't feel my legs! _I can't feel my legs!"_ He cried.

A moment later, the powder behind him shifted as Kristoff, moaning, grunting, and, much to Anna's unease, with a purple and red streak just poking out of his hair line from where he had made contact with the cliff, leaned out of the snow. Exhaling a bit, he reached behind him for his own cap and then threw it on his head.

"Those are _my_ legs." He answered.

Olaf blinked, and then let out a sigh of relief. "Oh…that's a relief." He turned to him soon after. "Hey Sven, could you do me a favor and grab my butt?"

Kristoff grimaced a bit at the name "Sven" yet again, but then looked out just in time to see Olaf's lower half run by. Immediately, he seized it with one hand, grabbed the rest of Olaf with the other, and plopped him on top of it. The snowman soon made an exhale of relief that sounded suspiciously like someone who was relieving themselves. "Oh yeah…that's much better…" He sighed.

The mountain man couldn't help but give a small chuckle before he leaned up the rest of the way out of the snow, and then turned to Anna to assist her. As he did, a series of hoofbeats soon rang out around them, before the "real" Sven soon ran up to the group. After seeing that everyone was alive, he turned his attention toward Olaf again…in particular his nose. He immediately went for it and stuck out his tongue to try and lick it, but, unfortunately for him, Olaf once again happened to turn his head just at that moment and got the lick across the cheek.

"Aw, look!" The snowman cheered. "Sven was worried about me!" He turned the rest of the way to face Kristoff and Anna, again narrowly missing the reindeer's jaws as they lashed out for the carrot and came up empty. "Isn't he a sweetheart!"

As for Kristoff, he had grabbed onto Anna's arms by now, and after giving a bit of a pull and a tug, he managed to yank her free from the snow and stood her on top of it. She immediately began to dust herself off to knock it loose from her dress. "Are you ok?" He asked. "No broken bones or anything?"

"No, no…I'm fine. Just a little bit of a jolt…and a scare is all." She answered as she looked back up to him. She soon winced again as she saw the bruise. "But…what about you? What about that bump…" She said as she reached out and touched it.

Instantly, the young man gave a wince and recoiled.

"Oops! Sorry, sorry! I probably shouldn't have done that!" Anna immediately apologized.

"Nah, it's ok." Kristoff stated a moment later, recovering. He soon rapped his knuckles on a "safe" part of his head. "I've got a thick skull."

"I don't have a skull…" Olaf moaned sadly as he waddled in between them. "…Or bones." He added a moment later.

Anna hadn't really noticed this so much, however. Instead, she had actually cracked a small smile at Kristoff at his "little joke"…something she really hadn't seen him do yet. She also began to realize, for the first time, Kristoff was actually smiling as well. She actually thought for a moment as she stared at him. Other women might have thought that her line of thinking was a bit out of place…but she _was_ eighteen and this was only the second young man she had ever hung around for any length of time at all…

_You know… _She thought. A_fter running around and getting sweaty yourself…and a bit used to the stench of reindeer…so long as he's not scowling at you and actually smiling…he's not too terribly bad looking…_

Noticing that Anna had been quiet for a bit, Kristoff cleared his throat a little. "So…what now?" He asked.

"What now…" The young woman echoed a bit mechanically, still thinking. However, after a few seconds, the words sank in. When they did she gave another gasp. "What now?!" She exclaimed. Face filling with anxiety, she began to turn away and fret. "She…she threw me out! I…I…I don't know what to do! I can't go back to Arendelle like this! I said I'd bring her back and stop the winter! Now…now I…I…"

She cut herself off. She heard a light snickering from nearby. She turned her head, and found it was Kristoff, smiling again and chuckling.

"…What's so funny?"

"I _told_ you that you needed a backup plan." He answered her. "But at any rate," He continued in a tone that was surprisingly calm and even reassuring. "Don't get so upset. We'll think of something."

Anna nearly shouted back at this…before giving pause. Wasn't that exactly what she had said to Elsa? And she expected that to calm her down and reassure her, didn't she? On realizing that, she began to relax a bit herself. Besides…when Kristoff wasn't barking at her or snorting, he _did_ have a fairly calming voice…

"Don't worry about it." He continued. Yet as he said that, his eyes drifted a bit. A moment later, they widened slightly as his smile vanished. "…Worry about your hair!"

Hearing this made Anna crack another smile. "Pft…oh yeah. I bet you think that's all we princesses do all day while we're up in our ca-"

"No, I'm serious! Look at your hair!" Kristoff cut off, pointing to her braid with her white strand. "It's turning white!"

Anna giggled again as she reached up to take the braid. "I already told you, I was born…with…"

She soon trailed off as her own eyes widened. She didn't just have one white strand anymore. On the contrary…that braid only had one _red_ strand in it now. The rest of it was streaked with white. She couldn't see it, but it had gone all the way up to the crown of her head now instead of just having the one strand at the temple.

Kristoff was right. Her hair _was_ turning white.

"It's because she struck you back in that chamber, isn't it?" Kristoff asked her. "That's why she shouted… That's why you were on the floor…"

Anna uneasily looked at her braid a moment longer, then back up to him. "…Does it look bad?"

The mountain man stared back silently. About two seconds passed, and then he shook his head. "No."

"You hesitated." Olaf piped up from below.

Kristoff looked like he was repressing the urge to kick him. "No!" He stated more adamantly. "No! I mean…yes…I mean…" He paused a moment and inhaled to steady himself. After that, he again looked to Anna with a soft smile. "It'll be fine. My friends can fix this."

Out of all the things Kristoff could have said, this was the least expected. "Your 'friends'?" She answered. "You mean…the 'love experts'?"

He gave a nod, already beginning to turn to start leading the way. "Yeah. And what more, I _know_ they can do it. Because I've seen them do it before."

That only served to surprise and confuse Anna even more. "They've…fixed people's hair before?"

He snickered. "Just follow me. They don't live too far from here. You'll understand when you meet them."

Anna was still rather confused. However, Kristoff's manner had changed so much. He was smiling, reassuring, and…she had to admit…a bit comforting. She definitely preferred being around "this" Kristoff compared to the one she had met just last night. And seeing as she really didn't have anywhere else to go…the only other two places either being back to Elsa with her homicidal abominable snowman guard, or Arendelle where she would have to proclaim to everyone she had failed miserably to return Elsa or end the winter…she elected to follow him on this one. Soon after, she walked on behind him.

Olaf cheerfully ran up behind, motioning to Sven. "Come on, Sven! We're going to go see Other Sven's friends!" He shouted before turning and walking forward at a more calm and even pace. "You know…I like to think of myself as something of a 'love expert'…"

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I had Elsa "swear" in this chapter. It just seemed appropriate. For those of you who saw the movie, you know the line in the song is: "Oh! I'm such a fool! I can't be free!" Somehow...I didn't really picture Elsa exclaiming: "Oh! I'm such a fool!" I mean...when's the last time any of you have exclaimed: "Oh!"? :P


	9. Chapter 8 - The Grand Pabby's Proclam

_Chapter 8 – "The Grand Pabby's Proclamation and the Living Nightmare"_

* * *

Elsa tried to shut Anna out of her head. That hadn't been easy for her back there…and she prayed that that…that…that _thing_ she had made on a whim hadn't hurt her anymore. But she needed it right now. She needed it to stand guard at the stairs. She needed to make sure no one else tried to "talk her down" or approach her again and that everyone stayed as far from her as possible. Why didn't they all just see it? Especially now? That she was _dangerous_?

_Stop it…don't get upset…don't get any more upset than you are right now…_

By now, her palace had been steadily changing. Most of the ice had turned much darker. As the sun went down, her chandelier had "come on", seeming to resonate with a yellow light that reflected off of her own ice dress. In a way, it was also beautiful…but she was more concerned with the fact that her palace was continuing to change against her will. The ice was no longer smooth and perfect, but growing rough and uneven. Not only that, but as night fell and her despair and fear grew, she saw that the sky over her was getting darker and beginning to snow…promising to bring more snowstorms on Arendelle soon…making her think of more people freezing…possibly dying… The ship industry was gone. Nothing would grow. It was the middle of summer. How long would it be before any harvests were ruined for the entire year? Before people would start to starve…?

_Stop it!_

Holding her head, she paced about in her palace…her icy, isolated, glorified, self-imposed "prison". Before it had been just a room in the castle… Now it was this place… She tried to recall everything her parents had told her…

_Control it, Elsa… Conceal, don't feel… Don't let it show… Rein it in…_

Yet as she paced about and struggled to control all of this…the control didn't come. It was impossible now. She couldn't rein it in any more than she could unring a bell. Her whole life she had put chains on her emotions, her heart, and her very soul. As she grew from being a child into a teenager, a young woman, and finally a queen, she had suppressed every last desire and emotion she had until she felt she was crushing her own chest and that some sort of iron corset was slowly smothering her. Running in terror from the castle had been the most liberating thing that ever happened in her life. Because for once…her heart was free to feel an emotion, even if it was a painful and negative one: fear. Since coming here, letting her power flow, she felt as if she had been crippled her whole life due to binding up her legs with heavy chains and now she was starting to dance. Or that she had walked through life with a blindfold on and had finally learned to see. Telling herself to "control it" now was worse than asking a person to lay back on a piece of stone and let a hammer smash their legs, or a red hot blade stab out their eyes. And even if she could do that, she couldn't forget what it was like "to run and dance". She couldn't "unsee" what she had started to see. Her power was out now, and trying to tell it to "go back in again" was like trying to force a mountain back into the ground by sitting on it.

Especially now.

Her mind was racing with hundreds of emotions. What if she couldn't control it? How many people right now were desperately trying to keep warm? How many birds were being coated with ice as they struggled to hatch their eggs? How many fish had been killed? How many trees were being split by frost? What was going to happen to Arendelle? What if, within a year, it wouldn't matter if she lived on this mountain or not? What if there were only frozen, empty homes left in the entire country? An icy waste? But then again…what if she _did_ control it? What then? Would she be forced to stand in this palace forever with her arms around herself, struggling not to feel, not to think, not to let the slightest, smallest bit of freedom or emotion come to her ever again? Could she really stand to be here? At least before, she _knew_, even if she could never be next to her, Anna was in the palace. Now she was miles away. She was completely alone and powerless to be herself or anything else…

_Control it… Control it… Control it!_

Elsa opened her eyes to see her "progress"…and saw she wasn't making any at all. The castle was continuing to change. Now, deadly, cruel, ice spikes were beginning to line the columns as her power grew more erratic. She hadn't stopped anything… If she kept growing so upset, she might _really_ lose control. For all of her attempts to not show emotion, for thirteen years of practice and toil…nothing. She hadn't gained the slightest measure of control…

The saddest part, however, was something Elsa didn't even realize.

The secret was much closer than she thought to controlling her power…far simpler than she thought. So much so she wouldn't believe it even if someone told her right now. If she could only feel a little less fear and think a bit more clearly and calmly for ten minutes, there was a chance she would think of it herself…but sadly she was too distraught and fearful to do that even for an instant…

And it was getting worse…both within her soul as well as outside…

* * *

Anna let out another visible shiver. She soon put her arms a bit around herself and rubbed them. She guessed she finally reached her "threshold". Ever since they had begun to head out toward where Kristoff told her his "friends" lived, she had progressively gotten colder. Of course, that only figured. Night had fallen, and with what was happening on the mountain behind them…namely that the skies were getting darker and looking like they were preparing to snow again…and a lot worse than the light flurry from last time…she realized it had to be getting colder. Kristoff seemed to be handling it perfectly well, however. As well as last night. And truth be told, she hadn't felt cold since last night…before she got the new set of clothes. Then again, she hadn't been walking around either. In fact, she was rather sleepy from all of the walking she had been doing… She didn't think she had ever exerted herself as physically as she had done in the past day. Perhaps wearing herself out had eventually stopped making her warm and just burned out her "internal heater"…or whatever she had. She _had _been subsisting on a diet of carrots…

Then again, what was weird was that she was still feeling cold even after walking into this new place…

Anna wasn't exactly sure where it was…although, very vaguely, something about it seemed familiar…as if she had a dream of it as a child. She knew _what_ it was. It was the wastelands area on the periphery of Arendelle. They weren't truly "forbidden"…just a place no one ever went. They had no reason to. They were volcanic in nature, having steam vents and maybe an underground hot spring in one or two places. But that was enough to make the ground ashy and gray, to ensure no trees with real roots would grow, and to otherwise have no value for homes or anything else. About the only things that stood out in the rocky valley were mosses, lichens, a few tufts of grass here and there, and lots of rocks. There seemed to be a small boulder of roughly the same size everywhere she looked, always covered with moss. However, Sven didn't try to run up and lick any of it off. On the contrary, he stayed behind at a distance as Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf as they moved on, deeper into the pass.

There wasn't a flake of snow on the ground. Anna realized there had to be so much steam going through the wastes that it was keeping it warm. Yet in spite of that, she was still shivering. In fact, she was having a harder time stopping it… She tried to rub her arms a bit more vigorously…

"What's the matter?" Kristoff asked, his voice once again that tone of concern that seemed so foreign to his first self. "Are you cold?"

"Just a little…" Anna answered. "I guess I'm really not suited to this weather…"

Anna continued to walk forward…not seeing Kristoff hesitate a moment before instinctively raising his arm to put it around her. However, just before he could touch, he froze where he was, grimaced, swallowed, and then brought it back. He looked around a bit, but then called out.

"Um…over here!"

Anna looked up, and saw Kristoff running to one side, toward one of the steam vents billowing a cloud. A moment later, she followed him and stood nearby, putting her hands out. Immediately, she felt a blast of moist, warm air…and, in spite of herself, let out an exhale of relief as she felt her chill chased away. She actually relished it for a few moments.

"Ah…that feels good…"

Kristoff patiently waited for her to stay there as long as she wanted…something that wasn't lost on Anna. She actually felt herself smiling again as she looked up to him. Finally, she began to move on again, prompting him to once again take the lead. After a moment, looking a bit more nervous than he did normally, he cleared his throat.

"Now, um…before you meet these 'friends' of mine… I…um…" He paused, and then spoke again while still walking. "Well…first of all…they're not so much 'friends' as…well, as 'family'. You see, as long as I can remember, it was just me and Sven…until we ran into them. So…so they kind of mean a lot to me. Now…they can be a bit 'unusual' and odd to some people…" He grew a bit more nervous as he looked forward. "They can get excitable…overexcitable…and loud…and crazy…and heavy…I'm talking _really_ heavy…you wouldn't believe…and some of them are messy eaters…and-"

"Kristoff."

The mountain man immediately went still when he felt Anna's gloved hand touch his shoulder. He looked to her, seeing her smiling back. Anna may have not had a whole lot of experience with men…but she could tell, it seemed, when a guy was getting really nervous about "bringing a girl home to meet the folks". However, it was now her turn to give him a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure they're wonderful."

Kristoff stared back a bit, but then smiled again. Soon after, he turned forward and began to lead on again. As he did, Olaf, who had shown a great deal of enthusiasm at meeting more people, began to wander up to Anna's side in his place and look around expectantly. "So…Sven's family lives here? It's nice… Everything's so green and gray and hard…"

At this point, the young man moved further ahead of them, forward into what looked like a descending series of rocks, almost forming what looked like a natural, outdoor amphitheater. As Anna was about to pick up the pace to go after him, however, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and gestured about.

"Well…here they are!"

Anna and Olaf stopped and began to look around. Within moments, both of their faces turned to confusion. Not only was there no one around, but soon Kristoff turned their back on them and began to look at some of the mossy rocks around him.

"Hey guys! Long time no see! Hey…look at you! You've put on weight! I hardly recognize you!"

The two stared blankly at this as the mountain man continued to wander among the stones.

"They're…um…rocks…" Anna slowly said.

Even Olaf was staring blankly forward. After a moment, his head slowly leaned back slightly in Anna's direction, and he whispered loudly. "…He's craaaaaazy." Pause. "…Wait here. I'll distract him while you run."

After saying this, a smile immediately appeared on his face as he began to walk up to the nearest rock.

"Hi, Sven's family! It's very nice to meet you!" He spoke in short words, as if humoring a kindergartner, as he reached the rock and began to pat it with his stick limb. Soon after, however, he again leaned his head back.

"Because I love you, Anna…I _insist_ that you run."

He looked back and resumed the smile as he patted the rock again. "So…I understand that you're 'love experts'?"

Again he leaned his head back.

"Why aren't you running?"

At this point, Anna was able to swallow a bit, and let out a small exhale. "Um…Kristoff…I'll just be, er…uh…waiting over here…"

The mountain man managed to catch this, and soon turned about. "Wait! No wait!" He started to call as he extended an arm. However, Anna soon saw something else that made her pause that wasn't his voice. Abruptly, the ground began to give a bit of a rumbling noise, even though it wasn't shaking. A moment later, the rocks she had passed coming in had begun to roll of their own accord around in circles, progressively swaying more. Once they gained enough momentum to roll freely, they began to roll back toward her…and back toward the flat area of land. She turned her head, and soon let out a small gasp as she saw all of the rocks in the entire valley were doing the same…at least, all the ones of a certain size and coverage of moss. And all of them seemed to be going back toward the center to gather around Kristoff…

Once a sizeable number of them clustered around, she got a second shock. All of the rocks "sprouted" tufts of grass and pointed stones, and abruptly stood up, revealing brown garments made of rough woven plants and small stubby arms and legs. She soon found she wasn't looking at rocks at all…but little creatures…or "people", was more appropriate. She got another surprise after that when one of them suddenly held out its hands and spoke in a louder, exuberant, female voice.

"Kristoff's home!"

Soon, the rest of the creatures began to cheer and resound loudly, some of them able to hop up and down. Immediately, he began to wave and look around again while some of the others started to walk up to him and pull on his clothes.

"You keeping warm?"

"You eating well?"

"You're definitely not scrubbing as much as I told you to…"

"Where's Sven?"

Olaf, on his part, seemed surprised at first, but then more delighted when the rock he had been patting suddenly sprang up and joined the crowd. However, after a moment, his face turned to confusion again. "Wait…his name is 'Kristoff'?"

"Uh, everyone…" Kristoff suddenly interjected. "Where's Grand Pabby? I really need to talk to him."

"Oh, he's taking his nap." One of the smaller ones with a voice like a child answered. "But look! I grew a mushroom!"

"I earned my fire crystal!" Another child one shouted.

"I passed a kidney stone." A much older-sounding male stated.

"Let me have a ride!" Yet another child shouted as it jumped up and landed on Kristoff's back. Anna, watching the whole thing, couldn't help but be a bit shocked. After all, these creatures came from good-sized rocks. However, a bit to her surprise, the mountain man only buckled a little with an "oof" before chuckling.

"Whoa…you're almost getting too big for rides!" He answered.

_Well, that explains how he was able to just "toss" me onto Sven last night… _Anna thought. And why he was so stocky. If he went around interacting with "family" that was nothing more than living rocks, then he had to be rather strong. Especially when other creatures began to leap and clamor around him. It actually made Anna smile a bit to see them fussing and cheering around him, even if the tallest of them barely cleared his knee. Yet as she looked, she remembered the legends from when she was a child…when she had been messing around in her father's library, found a book, and yanked it out to look through it. The stories about how most big rock creatures were savage maneaters…except for one breed that were "pint-sized" and lived in the wastes…

"They're trolls!" She suddenly exclaimed in realization.

At once, the trolls stopped their clamboring and talking. Anna winced, wondering if she had said the wrong thing…especially when every last one of them turned and looked to her with almost comical little white eyes. She soon heard a loud "clinking" as all of them blinked in unison at her. For a moment, there was silence.

Then, the first one who had spoke threw "her" (for it was honestly hard to tell) arms up and cheered again.

"He's brought a _girl_ home!"

The cheering soon resumed. As for Anna, she soon turned a bit red-faced. She opened her mouth, trying to form a protest. "Well…uh…yeah…um…he did bring me here, but…but I…"

Before she could stop them, soon the trolls were surrounding her as excitedly as they had surrounded Kristoff…if not more so. A lot of them, much to her nervousness, began to make comments such as "about time he finally brought one home", "oh, he picked out a cutie", and, perhaps most distressing of all, "she could use a bit more meat on her bones before the wedding". Not only that, but they were progressively pushing her closer to Kristoff…and, in spite of herself, she was blushing…

And honestly wondering how much of it was due to the comments by the trolls.

"Um…er…excuse me?" She called out. "I…I really don't…I mean…I'm…er…"

Abruptly, the trolls stopped…but that hardly made things better. Instead, one that was nearest to her allowed another troll to hop on his…or possibly her…back, and one of the "women" trolls soon hopped on the back of that one to get eye level with her, and gave her a bit of a grin.

"Come on, dear…" She said with a bit of a prodding grin. "Why you getting cold feet? Why you trying to keep yourself from such a man?"

Now, both Anna and Kristoff began to blush at that.

"It's not because of that odd shuffle walk he does, is it?" One of the trolls spoke up. "I always told him to pick up his pace…"

"Or how he's always grumpy?" Another said.

"Or maybe those weird feet he's got… I know they're kind of a cross between a pear and a square…"

"He's a lot more sensitive and sweet than he looks! He only acts that way because he wishes people would talk to him more…"

"What the… I do not!" The mountain man suddenly protested.

One of the trolls walked up and pointed to him while waving a bit. "He actually bathes a lot more than you think. It's just, you know…the reindeer." He added with a bit of a whisper…one that Kristoff could clearly hear, causing him to snap around to this one.

Another soon walked up with a bit more of an uneasy face. "And I know that whole deal with him and the reindeer…it's kind of unnatural… I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, dearie…the whole…" He soon formed two "talking hands" and had them chat with each other in a vague mimicry of Kristoff's voice and Sven's "voice". "'What do we say?' _'Give me a snack!' _'Say the magic word!' _'Please!'_"

"And how he always eats the other end of the carrot the reindeer just slobbered all over…"

Kristoff looked like he wished he was about as small as the trolls around him at this point. It was enough to make Anna have to cover her mouth so she wouldn't see him giggling. The one nearest her head gave a bit of a shrug.

"Ok, so he's what you might call a 'fixer-upper'. But I'm sure it's nothing _you_ can't fix once you've shown him a bit of love… You know…he's rather desperate. Let me guess…" She soon did a small little gesture. "When you first met him, he gave you the whole 'mean, tough' act so that you wouldn't see how lonely he gets and that you wouldn't focus on the fact he sometimes runs when he gets scared and how he's afraid him being a blonde makes him look less 'manly' than other guys…"

Anna blinked a few times, then smiled a bit more. "To tell the truth…" She began to say.

The troll grinned. "Oh, say no more." She waved in with her finger a bit, indicating for Anna to get closer. In spite of Kristoff's desperate look for her to hold back, she leaned in, and soon the troll whispered. "You want to see him crack? Just give him a hug. He melts like an iceberg on the sun if you do that…"

That seemed to be the last straw.

"_Enough!_ Alright?" He shouted loud enough to actually make the trolls freeze in the middle of their tirade. "She's already got a lover…ugh, _boyfriend!_ I mean…she's already engaged!"

The trolls all went silent at this. They stared at Kristoff for a moment, and once again let out a clinking as they all blinked. A moment later, a large group of them snapped around and formed a circle, soon "huddling up". However, they didn't seem to have much experience in "being quiet". Anna was near enough to them that she was able to overhear what they said…and soon found it more than a bit nerve-wracking for her.

"Looks like _she's_ a bit of a 'fixer-upper' herself…"

"Engagement, huh? Looks more like just a slight 'arrangement' to me."

"Yeah. If she's so 'engaged', then where's the ring?"

A moment later, they broke, and soon a new column of trolls began to stack up on the other side of her head, until another one was lined up with her.

"You really sure about this 'other guy', dear? I mean…what's your 'heartthrob' guy got that Kristoff hasn't got?"

"Is he as sensitive or doting or devoted?"

"And can he make you smile like the way you smiled at Kristoff just now?"

At this point, Anna turned so red she was sure she looked like a tomato. "Uh…er…well…"

"What's the matter?" Another asked. "Is this guy better than him?"

"Well…er…really I just met Kristoff, and…"

"Oh yeah?" A troll interjected. "How long did you know this other fellow before you decided to tie the knot?"

Anna was silent at that. She really didn't have a good answer.

"Alright, so the big guy may be a bit…" The first troll at her head said, making a quotation gesture with her fingers. "…'lacking'. Maybe he rubbed you the wrong way with his first impression or something about him puts you off a bit. And it's not like we're trying to say you'll be able to change him, because no one really 'changes' anybody. That's something people do to themselves."

"We're just saying love is a strange thing…you know, _real_ love. Not that puppy dog stuff." The other answered. "Powerful and strange… People sometimes say things they don't mean or do some really bad things sometimes…but it doesn't necessarily mean _they're_ bad. It's just…well…sometimes it hurt _them_ even more than it hurt someone else. If you show them a little love…again, the _real_ thing…you'd be surprised what comes back. I'm serious. Try it out some time. You've got to have some uncle or aunt or grandma or sibling that you really can't stand right now or did something to set you off…"

Anna paused on hearing that. She wasn't sure if these creatures were just overly eager to marry her off to the human they had apparently raised as their child…or if they somehow were really seeing something a bit more than what appeared. Because, at the moment, in spite of their focus being on Kristoff, she began to think about someone else when they mentioned that last part…living high up on the North Mountain…who's last touch was…

However, her thoughts suddenly faded…as she felt it again.

Abruptly, it seemed as if that icy knife from before that she had felt back in Elsa's chamber suddenly stabbed her in the chest. The worst part was that it wasn't the same sensation as before. More like it had never left…like it had simply "numbed" her feeling around that area but had still been there, but now was sliding a bit more into her heart…

And when that happened, she let out an audible gasp. She closed her eyes and spasmed, not seeing the top of her head as more of her hair turned white…the bulk of it now that color. Not only that, but the chill she felt before suddenly returned, and grew much sharper and more severe. It seemed to radiate through her blood rather than outside her body. And it seemed to also sap the strength out of her. Her knees felt watery, her body like she was ill, and her consciousness actually faltered as she began to collapse…

She didn't get far.

As the trolls reacted in shock to the sudden change, Kristoff took off like the crack of a whip. In no time at all, he had vaulted over five of the trolls and was at her side, catching her before she could even go to one knee. However, on touching her, he too gave out a small exhale.

"Anna…you're freezing…"

The young woman couldn't answer. The sudden onset had left her stunned and unable to speak. The pain slowly lessened again…but she knew it was still there. The icy knife was just residing in her chest, numbing her again. What _didn't_ fade was the feeling of ice water in her veins, and the weakness. She tried to walk forward, and managed to open her eyes again. But she still couldn't speak. She felt a bit breathless… By now, every troll was staring at her…not saying another word. Even Olaf, who had been trying to join in with the chanting that some of the trolls were making, soon began to dash up to them as Kristoff led her through the crowd and back toward the center.

Soon, he looked up while supporting her.

"I need to talk to Grand Pabby…_right now."_ His voice had turned very serious.

However, an old voice, sounding almost like groaning of stones, responded almost immediately.

"I'm here, Kristoff."

Instantly, both the mountain man and the princess looked up. The crowd was parting, allowing a single troll, older-looking, taller, and with a bit of a beard like grass and a slight limp making his way through the crowd. His hands came up and gestured.

"Bring Princess Anna here. Quickly."

The young woman looked up a bit at that even as she continued to shiver. However, Kristoff did as he was told. Soon, he was helping her walk toward him, which was good because Anna was feeling too weak at the moment to keep her legs underneath her. Soon they were before this troll, and Kristoff began to lower her in front of him, closer to eye level.

She weakly looked out at him, her eyes half-lidded, as she was still recovering from the pain. "Y-You…know m-me?" She asked, her voice already quivering from cold. "How…?"

"That's not important right now." The troll, who she assumed was 'Grand Pabby', answered. "Just as it doesn't really matter why I don't need to examine you to know what's wrong. Just that I know. Anna…" His tone dropped as he focused his gaze on her. "Listen to me very carefully. Your life is in grave danger."

In spite of her situation, the young woman managed to raise her eyes a bit more.

"Your sister put ice in your heart when she struck you. I don't know how or why…but there can be no doubt that is what happened." Grand Pabby went on. "If it's not removed…you will soon turn to ice yourself…for eternity."

Now Anna really began to shudder, and not from cold. "Wh…what…?"

"…You can fix this, right?" Kristoff asked…his own voice showing fear.

The troll looked up to Kristoff a moment, and then exhaled and shook his head. "…I'm sorry, Kristoff. I can't." He bowed his head regretfully. "If it was her head that would be easy, but…" He exhaled. "Only an act of true love can melt a frozen heart."

Kristoff held a moment at that. "True love…" He echoed.

One of the trolls suddenly spoke up eagerly. "Like…a true love's kiss!" She suggested, before immediately grabbing the nearest troll to her and giving one. Several of the others did the same.

The mountain man held for a moment at that. He looked to Anna. On her part, the young woman was stricken with fear. She had hoped that she was only contracting some strange illness…but after hearing the Grand Pabby, she realized she was actually dying. That chilling feeling she felt deep in her body was her own blood and flesh slowly turning to ice… That strand of white hair… She hadn't been born with it at all. At some point, Elsa had to have struck her before. Now the rest of her hair was turning that color as well…the color of snow and ice… She was dying…and actually feeling herself dying…

"Anna."

Again, the voice had a hint of comfort to it, a sense of "everything's going to be alright", in spite of her own growing despair. Anna looked to the source, and found Kristoff staring at her.

"I'm taking you back to Arendelle." He stated. "You have to get to Prince Hans."

She blinked once, twice, but then began to stiffly nod. "Hans…right…"

She began to rise up…only to find she didn't need to spend the strength. Kristoff soon brought his powerful arm underneath her and scooped her up, "bridal style", and began to carry her back to the front of the valley. As he did, he gave a loud whistle. "Sven!"

Anna looked up as a few flakes of snow began to fall. When she did, she saw the trolls rapidly parting as Sven rushed forward to both of them. Kristoff proceeded to lift Anna onto the reindeer's back before grabbing the edges of her cloak and pulling them as tightly around her body as he could. After that, he began to get on as well.

The princess began to protest. "Can he carry-"

"Don't worry. He's strong enough for this." He answered as he got on. Sure enough, the reindeer didn't even buckle. "Aren't you, buddy?"

Sven grunted back. Anna nearly gave a wistful smile. She could almost swear she heard a trace of a "yes" on that…

"You have to take the higher road." Grand Pabby called out. "The lower one is too flat…the snow's too deep. It will take three times as long."

"Thank you." Kristoff answered. "Olaf, come on! We're leaving!"

Then, without waiting, he immediately turned Sven back down the valley and gave him a light tap to get the reindeer shooting off as fast as possible, carrying both of his passengers. However, the snowman didn't seem to mind as he rushed off after him. "Bye, Kristoff's love expert family! Sorry to leave so soon! Wish we could stay longer!" He shouted back with a wave before running onward.

* * *

At first light, just as the storm had managed to fully blot out the sun with gray, heavy, ominous clouds, and the snow truly began to fall, Prince Hans and those with him, about eight men in all, arrived at the palace. To be honest, all of them were overwhelmed. They knew full well that no one had ever built a palace of ice up upon this mountain. No one could survive up there, after all. It was a good thing the more fearful nobles, and even citizens of Arendelle, were not here to see it. On beholding what the queen had wrought, as well as how impressive it was and how quickly built, everyone felt a hint of fear rush through them…including Hans himself.

At first, the journey had merely been in the direction Anna's horse had come in from. Yet it wasn't too terribly long after they had gotten ten miles from the city that they noticed the storm forming. This time, it had a place…the North Mountain. The reasoning soon became that if Anna was anywhere, it had to be en route to her sister. They had to push the horses rather hard to get there. The shortest path was inaccessible to them save by foot. However, the longer route, provided they could keep the horses moving, would end up ultimately being shorter by what they saved in terms of time. Climbing up the mountain during the night had not been easy, especially between the increasingly-violent weather and wind. When snow had begun to fall, it only made things worse and decreased visibility more. However, it had not yet grown bad enough to totally block things out. At last, they had arrived.

But, unfortunately, there had been no sign of Anna the entire time. Or if there _had_ been a sign, it had long since been swept away by the wind or covered by fresh snow. If the weather continued to escalate, no one would be able to scale the mountain again within a few hours. In fact…if they wanted to make it down, it would best be advisable to go in and out of the palace as soon as possible.

With that in mind, Hans began to dismount from here. The other men started to dismount with him. All of them bore weapons. Hans himself was no exception, although he had only brought his saber from the Southern Isles. Many of the others had brought crossbows, swords, javelins…all manner of weapons of war, as if they expected to go "on the hunt". To be honest, it unsettled him a bit. They would so easily turn their weapons on the woman who, but two days ago, they cheerfully applauded and proclaimed queen?

Of course…his biggest attention was on the two men the Duke had sent. In spite of the cold ride and bad weather, none of them had reacted once to any of it. Their faces remained stony and hard. And he noticed as soon as he began to dismount, they descended far quicker and got out their own crossbows far more readily. Hans noticed they were the quicker-firing kind for shorter range as well…like something someone would use more against someone they were sneaking up behind rather than long range…

He made a mental note to not take his eyes off of them for a moment during this…

Once off, Hans began to step through the snow closer to the castle. It had an air of beauty about it…definitely a grace and elegance. Even if he encountered this place on the ground or in the middle of a town of ice sculptors, he still would have thought it was queen's doing. There didn't appear to be any real defenses. Just two snow-covered rocks flanking a rather narrow staircase made of ice. It spanned a chasm that was definitely impassible otherwise. In other words, if there was any attack to be made, here was the best place for it. A bottleneck.

As the men came up behind him, Hans put his hand on his sword hilt, and then turned back to them one more time.

"The priority here is the princess." He reasserted. "But if we encounter the queen, she is to be taken _alive_." There was heavy emphasis on the last word, and toward the two men the duke had sent.

There was no dispute, or change in look from the two men. That said, Hans inhaled, and then turned forward to start leading the way.

He only got two steps before he ran into a "guard".

Abruptly, part of the snowpile on the left protruded and rotated…revealing a monstrous, twisted face with two deep "sockets" in the snow for eyes, creased in anger, and a cavernous, twisted mouth. Soon after, a thick, heavy arm with icicle claws slammed down on the ground, and pushed up the rest of it. By now, however, Hans was staggering back, and the rest of the men were either retreating or crying out in alarm. The prince himself stared in shock as the pile of snow before them rose and became the rough shape of some sort of troll, ogre, or monster, ice spikes protruding from its back and knees as well. It growled deeply at them, before swiveling around, brandishing its claws, and roaring loudly, letting out a blast of frosty air in warning.

Hans was stunned. The queen actually had the power to give herself a monstrous guardian like this? He began to hope greatly that there was only one of them…but nevertheless feared about how they were supposed to get by it as it moved in front of the stairs.

After pulling back, five of the men, two of them the duke's, raised their crossbows and opened fire. Hans nearly shouted out to stop. What good would that do? The monster had no vitals, even eyes, and was made only of snow and ice. Sure enough, it swept one of its large arms before it to act as a shield, and several of the bolts landed in it. However, the beast didn't cry out as they sank inside, and once they had, it brought its arm down and bellowed even louder and in more rage than before. As it did, its existing spikes and claws grew longer yet, with smaller ones erupting out of its arms and back beyond it. If that wasn't enough, blue light began to shine out from within its eye sockets as the mouth filled with icicle teeth in jagged, irregular positions. Soon after, it began to stomp forward in fury.

At that point, the crossbow men moved to flank the snow ogre while those with javelins began to ready them. The duke's men, however, proved to be closer, and tried to dart in from the side to open fire at its eyes. Yet when they fired two more bolts, the maddened beast just let them sink in and continued to stomp forward, before swinging out one of its arms hard at them. The blow connected with a resounding smack, and both men were flung back at once…smashed into the other snowpile at the entrance. They were fortunate. Anywhere else would have sent them into solid rock…or off the mountaintop. As it was, both merely peeled off and landed back on the ground, stunned but seemingly not permanently damaged.

"Get the ropes!" Hans shouted.

Immediately, the crossbowmen began to stash their current weapons and went for lines instead, hoping to put around the creature to either restrain a limb or tie it back. Meanwhile, the javelin throwers let fly next. Assuming it still wasn't feeling pain, the snow ogre at least hesitated as the speartips pierced it, actually taking a step back in response. However, it soon madly looked up and began to charge again at who had struck it while the guards struggled furiously to tie the ropes to the ends of their reserve javelins.

While this went on, the duke's men slowly began to recover, and as they did they looked up and past the guardian. After all…by now, he had advanced far enough to where there was a pathway on that side clear to the staircase…

And as they looked up, they caught just a glimpse of the front doors opened…and a woman in an icy blue dress looking out for a moment, before gasping and shooting back inside.

Their own looks grew cold as they quickly got to their feet. Seizing their window of opportunity, they immediately tore past the guardian and for the stairs. They managed to reach it rather quickly, and soon were shooting up it.

Hans caught this in spite of the fact he was being stared down, along with the others, by the snow ogre. Yet he couldn't get to them. Suddenly, another javelin was thrown, this one attached to a line, and managed to embed in one of the monster's shoulders. The man on the other side tried to give it a pull to put it off balance, but the thing merely roared and snapped its arm back, dragging the guard forward and threatening to yank him over the cliff. Hans had to quickly jump out and on top of him to stop his progress, but when he did, the snow ogre seemed to realize that it had grown "lax in security", and began to back up again, making it impossible for anyone else to chase after the two men who were already nearing the front doors.

The prince stared a moment and tried to think. _What now?_

* * *

A newer, and yet very much unwanted, sensation of fear was soon flowing through Elsa. This one she was more familiar with, having felt it her whole life until this point. Having dreaded something like this would happen ever since the day she saw the vision in the wastelands. Now, it was finally coming to light. Men…men who had lived in _her_ kingdom, who has served _her_ and her father, who had praised _her_ when she took the throne…were coming to kill her.

And she didn't know what to do.

_What if that thing I made kills them all? Then I'll be a mass murderer… _

_But…but what if it _doesn't_ kill them all?_

She didn't have time to answer that question. It was about to be answered for her. She looked to the front doors…and began to see shadows streaked against it. The two men who had spotted her while she was outside. They weren't of Arendelle. They were the Duke of Weselton's. She remembered that much. They had no loyalty to her…no reason to stay their hands… They were coming up here right now…to murder her, right in her own ice palace.

Elsa felt just as she had at eight years old at night. Waking up in the middle of it, soaked in sweat that turned to frost, from a nightmare of the vision she had seen. Only the vision was real in her nightmare. It took the face of real men and women, cursing her, hating her, hounding and tormenting her, and finally attempting to kill her. And now…it wasn't even a nightmare anymore. Now she truly did feel "cold". Now she felt her heart racing inside her chest. She did the only thing left that she could do…even if it was folly. She was unable to think as a queen right now. She was only able to think as a frightened child. She turned and raced up the stairs as fast as she could.

One would hardly have believed a woman with such a long train, of ice no less, could have ascended a flawless ice staircase so quickly. Yet she was back at the balcony when she heard blows strike her front doors so severely that one of them was shattered off of its hinges and fell in. With intent to fire and kill immediately, the two men from Weselton came in, both of their weapons out and aimed. They both scanned the first floor momentarily, before looking up. They were just in time to see Elsa's long dress and sleeve trains flow out behind her as she began to shoot up the second flight of stairs. Not wasting a second, both of them split for separate circular stairs and began to pursue. She soon heard footsteps not her own echoing up after her. Hours earlier, they would have only slipped and slid back down the stairs. But as her emotions had grown out of the control, the flawless ice had turned rough enough for them to gain traction.

It wasn't until Elsa reached the upper room that she realized how stupid her choice had been. There was nowhere to escape in here. Granted…there was no way to escape outside, either. She had built her palace with the intention that she'd be the only person who would ever use it, who would ever be able to endure the cold to go up to live there. Not to defend it from attack. All that was there was her window, now shut tight, overlooking the outer balcony and the chasm. She was trapped.

As fear continued to surge inside of her, she moved out closer and closer to the center, feeling like a helpless little girl. The golden lights that filled the inner chamber seemed already like a pyre being built high to burn her as a witch… She looked around, trying to think…but it was useless. She was petrified. She was overrun by the emotions she had let go into her. She actually forgot her power and thought of herself as just being a small, vulnerable, hiding girl again… And as she thought of this, she heard the sounds of the men come up the last few stairs…

She snapped around, and was just in time to see both of them, crossbows out and aimed, staring at her as they ran into the chamber. Neither of their looks showed the slightest pity and mercy.

Elsa swallowed as she looked at them, visibly trembling. Nervously, she began to hold her hands up in a mixture of a halting gesture as well as "surrender".

"L...Look…" She began to say. "Please… Just…just stay…stay ba-"

She saw one of the men pull their trigger.

Where fear and feelings of weakness had held her back before, sheer instinct saved her. She thought of only one thing as that trigger went off and she heard a bow snap. She wanted it to stop. As a result, instantly, before her held-out palm, a wall of ice formed. In a split second, she had a crystalline barrier up before her body. Even so, she winced. She nearly shut her eyes completely and recoiled…expecting pain…expecting blood…expecting the feeling of a bolt…

She felt nothing. As a result, she let her eyes open again. Her eyes widened.

The bolt was suspended right in front of her body. It had become trapped instantly when the ice formed around it. Yet the point was still aimed at its intended target. It had been her, of course. But it hadn't been a shoulder. It hadn't been a leg. It hadn't been to the side of her head as a "warning shot". It was right where the middle of her eyes had been a moment ago.

Without one word of warning, one call to "get down on the ground", or any demands, they had shot to kill.

She slowly looked up again, and saw the men already moving. One of them tossed a fresh bolt to his companion, and soon they spread out to flank her from both sides. She realized what they were doing…trying to shoot her from opposites directions at the same time. She wouldn't be able to block that. Had she been less than a heartbeat slower, she wouldn't have blocked the _last_ shot…a shot meant to kill her in one hit.

In spite of the fact that Elsa had feared this all along, that she would be cornered by men and slain without pity or mercy, in spite of the fact that she had held this fear all of her life and it had paralyzed her on more than one occasion…she felt a different emotion filling her now.

_They were going to kill me. They were going to shoot me through the head or through the heart with no more concern than a huntsman. No…_less_ than that. A huntsman only kills what he needs to eat and survive. He does not hate his prey. He simply shoots it. But they hated me. They hated me more than anything. And prey doesn't "surrender". Prey doesn't plead for the hunter to stay away. Prey doesn't hold its hands up in a gesture of defeat to show the hunter that they're helpless and scared and won't try to defend themselves. And if they did…a hunter would show mercy at least…_

_ …But prey _does_ fight back with everything they have at their disposal._

_ Look at them. Look at these horrid men. It's so easy, isn't it? To just see me as a demon? A sorceress? Something to be killed as soon as she becomes an inconvenience? To praise and toast me in one breath and then whip out your crossbows in the next and try and pierce me through the head without a word in between? To not look at me like I'm flesh and blood…like I'm a human being…like I have feelings and emotions and pains and joys…and thoughts and opinions and desires as a _person! _Not as a woman, not as a princess, not as a queen, but as a thinking, feeling creature! I have honor! I have dignity! I have a right to _live!

_ But most of all…I have the power of a _god_._

Indeed, a new emotion began to fill Elsa as she reminded herself she was not a frightened girl or a defenseless princess but a powerful snow queen.

Anger.

* * *

By now, ropes had somehow managed to get tied around the legs of the creature, but no one could do anything else about them. Three men had seized one of the ropes at one time, but had been powerless to even make the creature stumble. All other weapons were useless…and soon wouldn't even be good for holding it back. Everyone was down to just their swords at this point. And the beast was holding back, making sure to stay near the stairs. As Hans glared at it angrily, he realized all of this was taking far too long. There was no telling what was going on in the palace already, but for all he knew the queen might already be dead…

Her…or her attackers…in which case her own fate would be sealed regardless…

_I have to get past this monster…right now._

However, he hadn't been idle during this time. He had been watching the thing, and had learned for all of its strength and seeming invulnerability, it was relying on its reach to get to people. It wasn't fast enough on its own. Not only that, but it was ungainly, like a twisted construct or "experiment" at a guardian, nothing perfect. It was too large and awkward…especially after growing its new "additions". With that in mind, he had an idea. Drawing his own sword, he grit his teeth and ran in for the monster.

Predictably, it allowed itself to advance a step or two, snarling and growling at him all the way. However, Hans was specifically going for its right side, the side closest to the stairs. The monster seemed to realize that, and reared back its massive icy claws with the intention of swinging them out and batting him away. Yet he kept running forward undaunted, all the way until he got within striking range. At that point, the snow ogre swung its heavy claw at him…

And it sailed right over him as he quickly dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, feeling a chilly gust as the claw went over his head. Hans, knowing he had only a moment, quickly landed on his feet and sprung up again. Giving a cry, while the monster was still realizing what he had done and was swinging his claw, not yet balanced enough to counter with his other one, he darted forward, grasped his sword hilt with both hands, and then swung out for the snow portion of one of the monster's legs. This was not only "soft"…but also one of the thinnest parts of the thing. The sword sank into and through, cleaving the leg of the monster clean off of its body.

The effect worked. The beast had just recovered enough to start bringing its opposite claw back…when it suddenly had no support from one of its legs. The joint region of the severed stump moved a bit, but all in all was helpless to do anything as the inertia carried the snow ogre backward. It staggered, vainly trying to hop on its remaining leg, but it had swung too far back…over and into the chasm. And Hans wasn't exactly waiting around to see if it would recover. With the way now cleared, he immediately began to charge up the ice stairs. The others with him, likewise seeing the way clear, dashed after him…

As the center of gravity moved over the hole, and the snow creature seemed to realize in whatever it had for a brain that it was now hopeless…that it was going to fall in no matter what…it did one "last hurrah". Leaping with all the strength it could muster in its remaining leg, its claw shot out and reached for Hans as he ran up. Much to his shock, although this move sent it over the chasm, the prince also realized it was going to make contact with him. He couldn't go back, and he couldn't outstrip it either. With only moments to react, he did the only thing he could and flattened himself against the stairs, trying to get to one side.

A moment later, the claw came down, smashing through the railing, half the steps, and managing to hook into Hans' cloak enough to yank him off of the icy steps and over the chasm himself. His eyes widened before he reached up and seized the stairs with all the force he could muster. The claws, luckily, slipped out as easily as they went in, and giving one last defiant roar, the icy beast flailed as it sank into the chasm, soon vanishing into the shadows and darkness far below, its last noise slowly swallowed up by the wind…

As for Hans, somehow he had managed to reach out enough to cling onto the steps, which were just rough enough to provide enough for him to hold onto. Mercifully, the ice stairs still held even with this section missing a good part of it. Soon after, he managed to grunt and get one of his gloved hands to a pole. On grabbing on, he strained to pull himself up, just as the first of the guards arrived to assist him. He quickly took their hands with his other and let them start yanking him upward onto the higher stairs.

"Hurry!" He said between grit teeth. "The queen's in danger!"

* * *

One of the men managed to get far enough to risk giving a shot. Both of them were oblivious to the fact that Elsa was no longer trembling. In fact, her look had gotten much stronger and bolder…as well as darker. Her lips had stiffened while her eyes had begun to glare out as icy as the very snows she commanded. At any rate, he lifted his bow to fire.

However, a hand gesture was even quicker. Immediately, Elsa snapped her hand at him, her fingers extended. A moment later, the man's own cold look broke into one of fear as not one, not two, but _five_ monstrous, perfect icicles, each one as large around at the base as a man's torso erupted from the floor and shot into him with such violence and force that his companion froze and gasped, thinking for a moment that his partner had just been impaled on the ice. Sure enough, four of the icicles did rip him into the air, going through the shoulder and hip regions of his clothing and proceeded to slam him into one of the columns so hard he was stunned and soon literally "pinned" to it.

Yet he didn't let his head hang. Soon, he lifted it up and pressed back as hard as he could, gazing fearfully in front of him.

That was because the fifth icicle had formed a deadly, sharp tip that slowly extended out to his neck, threatening to pierce it straight through if he let himself relax even an inch.

Continuing to hold her hand at him, giving him one last icy, cruel glare, Elsa's eyes flicked about, toward his companion who was still free. The man hesitated, genuinely showing a wave of true fear. For a moment, he didn't look whether he should keep moving, now that Elsa's eyes were firmly on him, or if he should run for it.

The woman glared at him, dark thoughts filling her head. _How does it feel to be trapped, little man? Shivering from fear? Or shivering in that wool garment from cold, so fragile and weak from a little ice and snow… _

She slowly began to raise her hand toward him, her fingers extended as she did so. He stiffened again, and seemed even more indecisive.

_You see me now, don't you? You react when I put my hand up now, don't you? You're looking at my hand…a hundred thoughts going through your heartless body… "What is she going to do?" "What horror will that monster unleash on me?" "She can do whatever she can think of…" What will you do when I do…this?_

Suddenly, she swept her hand up. Right at the moment when the man finally made a decision and chose to abandon his companion and run for the door. However, before he could go even a step, a wall of ice sprang up in his path. If that wasn't enough, it immediately sprouted spikes in his direction, "reaching" for the man as they formed. He immediately turned and tried to run the other way. However, Elsa only needed to make a second gesture to instantly create a second ice wall, also lined with spikes. Now…the man was trapped. Positioned right in front of the doors to the balcony between two walls. Oh…nothing was stopping him from trying to run out by running right at Elsa…

_But you're too scared to do that, aren't you? Too afraid to get anywhere near the "monster". That's why you had to bring your little stick-shooters in…_

She turned her fingers again…creating a third ice wall, this one right in between her and the man. This one, however, didn't become lined with spikes…and didn't stay put either. Rather, it immediately began to slide forward toward the person. In moments, it reached him, and once it did it began to push him toward the closed doors. He must have had at least some idea of the layout of the palace, for he immediately pushed back. But his strength was nothing compared to Elsa's will. She needed only want the ice block to keep moving forward, and all mortal power in the world wouldn't be able to hold it back. As he backed his whole body into it, it didn't even slow. He soon reached the doors, and on doing so he pressed himself more against it and raised his legs, putting them out against the frame of the window's doors.

_That won't work._ Elsa thought as she simply added a bit more force…and soon the entire frame crackled, splintered, and then shattered completely. The doors swung out and down…and immediately landed on the railing. With one move, they shattered it as well, removing the last barrier between the man…and the chasm beyond.

He made one last attempt on the balcony to go to either side…but Elsa had thought of that. There were already two walls on either side of him lined with spikes. Not terribly big. Not enough to stop him from being desperate enough to jump over them…but enough to keep him stunned until it was too late. Soon, the window of opportunity was closed, and all the man could do was press himself against the ice wall as he went down to three feet of walking space left…

_How does it feel to stare death in the face…_

Two feet…

_With no way out?_

One foot…as the toes slowly went over the edge…

At the same time, the icicle was now resting lightly on the skin of the other man. Just the teeniest, tiniest amount of pressure more…and the tip of that icicle would be streaked with vermillion. Any more than that…and it would begin to slide inside the man's windpipe…

It was then, like a voice calling her out of a dream, she heard someone.

"Queen Elsa!"

The woman snapped her head to the source, finding herself looking back to the door. She soon saw him…the man from two nights ago. The one Anna had brought before her…Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. But behind him, she saw the guards. Ones that had been her own guards, looking at her now… None of them were moving. None of them held up their weapons. They merely stood there and stared at her…both hands extended…either hand holding a man's life in it, more or less.

In spite of her feelings of anger…and her darker feelings of superiority that she had allowed to intrude into her thoughts and heart for the first time…something began to override her at that point…something more fundamental and less heated…

Hans looked intently at her, taking only one step more.

"…Don't become the monster they think you are."

Elsa held. She looked almost apoplectic. Her face softened to show neither anger or release. It merely turned, slowly, back to what she was doing. Neither piece of ice moved any further, but she looked. One man, panicked, helpless, pinned to a wall with icy death pointed at his neck. Another man, flush against a piece of ice that might as well have been a mortuary slab…one she could almost hear beginning to mutter pleas and begging…

She stared at both.

She could almost see her father and mother standing there right now…looking at her…literally a hair's breadth away from killing two people. She could see the look in their eyes…the fear…the horror…

She could almost see Anna watching her…or somewhere far from here…learning that she had killed two helpless men. Ones who were no longer armed or in a position to hurt her…murdered in cold blood…murdered just to get a sense of superiority…of dominion over their lives…to flex her new-found muscles…

At once, she let out a panicked, terrified gasp as she lowered both of her hands.

_Oh God…what am I doing?! _

_I'm not a monster! I'm not…not a murderer!_

Elsa was shaking again as she fully came back to her senses. She was wrong…that hadn't been as bad as her nightmares. That had been _infinitely worse_. How would she have ever looked at herself in a mirror ever again? How could she have lived with herself? How could she have ever shut her eyes and not seen her parents looking at her with expressions of shock and terror? One moment…she had literally been an instant away from sealing her fate forever as the worst thing she always feared becoming from her powers…one moment away from turning into everything that they accused her of being…

She didn't see this, but Hans and the men with him both trembled as well as they let out exhales of relief. Not one of them hadn't believed, deep down in their heart of hearts, that she might have actually done it anyway. But the situation was over…diffused… Hans began to compose himself, ran a hand through his hair, tried to think of what to do from here…

When he caught it in his peripheral vision.

The one "staked" to the column still had his crossbow. He still had it loaded. And right now, while the queen was distraught and not looking anywhere near him…he was raising it up and pointing it at her head.

Instantly, he took off like a shot for him.

"No!"

Elsa snapped her own head up at this, and turned to look to see what the alarm was. But if there was any fear of her having a reprisal…it was gone now. Whatever might have eventually become a "cold hearted ice goddess" had been stamped out forever just now. She was again Elsa of Arendelle…a human being. And as such, all she could do was let out a small exhale on seeing the crossbow pointed at her and the trigger depressed…

Right before Hans slammed into it and quickly wrenched it skyward.

The bolt still loosed and flew through the air, however…and made contact as well. In truth, it was a one-in-a-hundred shot, especially from this angle…but it made it just the same. The bolt sailed right through the icy "leaves" in the grand chandelier that Elsa had made, before striking the thin ice rod that suspended the entire assembly from the ceiling. It shattered it a moment later, and, in a second seeming to be slowed by the perpetual cold all around, the entire chandelier began to descend at once.

Elsa didn't watch it for more than an instant…which itself was nearly too long. She turned and ran for the entrance…barely avoiding the first bit of the chandelier smashing into where she had been standing a moment ago. She missed the second tier just barely a moment later, but it continued to come down, and tilted on the floor after her. She struggled to keep going, but the litter all over the ground made her lose her footing. She spilled forward, crying out slightly, right before the rest of the masterwork ice fell down around her…and as a heavy piece struck her head, the world vanished into blackness with a sound like a million frozen fractals shattering into a billion pieces of dust.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	10. Chapter 9 - The Prince of Arendelle

_Chapter 9 – "The Prince of Arendelle"_

* * *

Elsa didn't remember the last time she had slept. Had she slept while in the ice palace? She never remembered making a bedroom. Did she even need sleep now? Or did her power over cold remove her body's need for rest just as it had removed her body's need for food? She didn't know. Only that as she slowly came to, she felt she was in something that resembled a bed. Enough for her to think, if for only a brief moment, that it had all been a terrible dream…

But this wasn't her room. She couldn't feel if it was as warm as a brightly-lit house or as cold as an ice chest, but she could smell something old, musty and dank in it that was not her room or her palace. Her head was on a pillow, but only a thin one. Her body was covered with a blanket, but not the normal sheets she was used to. This was a basic wool blanket…

Standard issue to all prisoners in Arendelle's dungeons during winter months.

Her eyes slowly opened…and saw a frost-covered, V-shaped roof overhead with basic timbers. She recognized the etching on them just as she recognized the ones on her parent's ship. It was dark in here. No lanterns. No lamps. There was some light, but it was pale and gray. She had never been in this place in the castle before…but there was little dispute in her mind that she was in it now. The prison cells.

Elsa let out a groan, feeling a pain through her head. While she may not have needed to bother with the "needs of the body" anymore, she realized now that her body was just as frail as that of any other human being. The bump she felt rising was clear enough evidence of that. As she sat up, pushing the blanket off of her, she looked over herself…and found she was still clad in the dress made of ice. It served to confirm one unfortunate thing to her…her powers would work whether she was conscious or awake now. But she was in a prison cell. Not a public set of stocks. Not a stake surrounded by wood and oil. A prison cell. She had been taken alive…

Looking around a bit, still trying to get her bearings, she finally rose from her "bed", which, in reality, was a thin mattress chained to the wall as befitting any other denizen of the dungeons. She rose to her feet and looked to the window. The only thing she could immediately tell was that it was gray and snow was blowing…and blowing hard. Much harder than when the snow began to fall back at her palace. The window was cross-ironed, kept from being broken into. Soon, she began to advance toward it, wanting to see what it looked like out there…

Her arms suddenly snapped behind her.

"Ah!" She cried in a wince of pain, and then looked forward. Her eyes widened a bit. She hadn't seen these before because her hands had been under the blanket…but both of her hands had been encased in iron mittens which had been overlain with further bits of iron and locked. These, in turn were anchored to an iron ring in the middle of the room by thick chains. She grit her teeth, attempted to struggle against them for a moment, but it was useless. And now that she was awake, she realized how uncomfortable it was too. Yet she supposed it was the only way they could have let her reside in the castle…keeping her hands "gloved" once again whether she liked it or not.

Exhaling, she turned her arms so she could stretch as much as possible, and craned her head to the window. What she saw was not a welcome sight.

Anna had been right. The fjord was completely frozen, but that wasn't the half of it. The ice had grown thicker and heavier, with large pieces of it seeming to crush around the boats and on them, trying to sink them completely. Not like anyone could get out on them, anyway. The sea itself…the very ocean…might as well have been a frozen, snowy landscape in and of itself with as far as it went into a whiteout. She could only see a few houses from Arendelle itself, but they were completely lost under thick snowdrifts. No one walked the streets. How could they? Outside no longer looked like a Norwegian waste. It looked more like one from Siberia…or Greenland…or the Arctic. Frozen, dark, and inhospitable…incapable of supporting any life. No one could even risk venturing out in this anymore for a few minutes if only to gather firewood…

All her fault.

_What have I done?_

The sound of a heavy lock turning rang out. Shortly after, a hinge turned as well. The queen spun around, and was just in time to see Hans, sans cloak, and as a result wrapping his arms around himself, step into the cell and shut the door behind him.

Elsa stared at him a moment. He was the one at the palace too. Anna had to have appointed him as steward. He was already her fiancé, after all… However…she realized she was indebted to him. If he hadn't called out when he had… That was enough to put away her earlier anger toward him for encouraging Anna's hasty decision… And he saved her life the last she saw him... Maybe she had been wrong about him in at least a few senses…

"…Why did you bring me here?" She finally asked after a moment, beginning to walk up to him.

"I couldn't just let them kill you." Hans responded. "But I don't know how much longer I can keep them at bay. You can see what's going on outside. It's only been getting worse. Some of them think it's the only way to stop it…"

"I need to talk to my sister." Elsa responded. "I need to tell her that-"

"Your sister never came back to Arendelle." Hans cut off. "Anna's been missing ever since shortly after you ran off. She went out looking for you."

Elsa stopped in her tracks. She took this in a moment…as new fear, seemingly the only thing she would ever feel for the rest of her life (however short that would likely be), filled her. She was still out there…still out in this weather. Out in something soon no one would be able to survive in… Why hadn't she come back? She had told her to return to Arendelle…and she obviously hadn't tried to get back in the palace…

_That incident upstairs…_

_ She was grasping…for her heart…_

Beneath her iron mittens, Elsa's hands clenched uncomfortably. She continued to look down.

Hans exhaled and stepped a bit closer, his breath coming out in white puffs while Elsa's remained clear. "Look…if you could just…stop this winter. Bring back summer. It would make everything so much easier…"

Elsa's eyes closed as she exhaled helplessly. "…Don't you see? Don't any of you realize it yet?" She turned her head to him with a look of genuine sorrow and helplessness. "I can't." It was not a refusal…but undeniably the tone of someone who could not do something. As Hans looked back at her, he soon made it clear he understood that.

She neared him a bit more.

"You _have_ to let me go." She stated with grave seriousness. "If I'm in here…it's only going to get worse and worse. But…" She hesitated. "…But maybe…maybe if I run away…as far as I can…I'll be too far to…to do this to Arendelle."

Hans looked back silently for a few seconds. Finally, he gave a tired exhale.

"…I'll do what I can." He finally answered. With that, he turned and began to walk back out of the cell once again. Elsa was left standing there, staring at his back as he did so, until he reached the door. Once there, however, he paused a moment before reaching for the handle. He turned back to her soon afterward.

"Queen Elsa…none of us know how far is 'far enough'. None of us know if this is just Arendelle, just Norway, just Europe…or just the entire world. Some of those who think it's far-reaching…farther than you could ever hope to run…are the nobles gathered in the castle who are deciding what we're going to do with you."

Elsa stared back, feeling herself stiffening a bit inside on hearing that.

"…I'm just warning you in advance." Hans finished regretfully, before turning away again, pulling open the door, and then stepping through it. Soon, the hinge clicked and the lock rang out again.

Elsa knew full well what Hans had meant by that. And she knew well enough from two of the men sent to "fetch her" that at least one noble in there making decisions, namely the Duke of Weselton, would have to be in favor of simply ending her life now rather than let her try and run. There was no telling how many more were with him. Even if Prince Hans ended up defending her…in the end he was just another noble. Only Anna could override any decision they would make. Without her…she knew that she probably had seen her last sunset. As the weather only grew worse, even the more merciful nobles weren't going to let people die to give her a chance at life.

Furthermore…did she really _want_ them not to do it? She had thought for so long about the chance of her power hurting just one person…and now it was hurting _everyone_. There was a chance her execution could save thousands. She had a kingdom full of men, women, and children. People with families. Aged loved ones. Newborn babies. She couldn't sentence them to death on something that might not even work… Yet in spite of all of that, Elsa realized she honestly didn't want to die. She had come too close to death to long for it so soon. And she didn't want to breathe her last unless she did one last thing first…made sure Anna was here in Arendelle, safe with her rule assured.

She looked down to her iron mittens. In truth, her whole body could bring cold…but the bulk of her power always resided in her hands. Without them, she couldn't make a single construct. She could fill the cracks in the walls with ice and make it expand to shatter the prison in an instant…but not without her hands. All she could do was make the power in her hands right now. And as she concentrated to try and do it…the end result was only to line her restraints with frost. She had to think of some way out…

…And fast.

* * *

The feeling of weakness continued to linger over Anna, especially the longer she stayed outside. While Sven had run tirelessly for hours, never slipping, never panting more than his same, steady breathing, the fact remained that she had still been out in the ever-worsening cold. Kristoff had tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but with the limited means available to them, she had only very slowly progressively gotten colder and weaker, shivering against him as he carried her before her, every so often pulling her cloak around her again.

Right now, her eyes were closed. Yet sleep was impossible, no matter how tired and weakened she felt. She was too cold. Kristoff tried to keep her warmer earlier by pulling her closer to his own body, but that wouldn't help now. Anna was in front of him on Sven, and not very protected against wind chill. His own body heat was isolated from hers by their layers of heavy clothing. And if Anna was freezing from the inside, as opposed to the outside, then even pulling off his own layers to put around her wouldn't help much, save to "keep the cold in".

Yet as they ran along…Anna did eventually feel something being pulled down around her head and her ears…something that had been warmed for a while and cut back on more of the wind blowing through her hair as they ran on. She opened her eyes slightly…and found herself looking at Kristoff as he focused forward, his blond hair now fluttering freely in the breeze as he was sans-hat.

Realizing what had happened, she smiled a bit before she closed her eyes again.

Kristoff, on the other hand, was restraining himself from slapping Sven in the flank. He knew the reindeer was doing the best he possibly could. After all, he cared about Anna too. And he had never struck the reindeer as long as he could remember. But there was still fear in his heart…fear that they'd be too late. However, Anna's hair retained streaks of red the entire trip. They weren't out of luck yet.

Most surprising, however, was that Olaf was keeping up easily with them. It seemed the snowman had found a new way to travel. By lying on his belly in the snow, he seemed to effortlessly glide forward across it. At first, Kristoff through he was merely sliding downhill. Yet as time went on, he realized he was going up slopes as well. He supposed it could have been inertia. After all, the trip was mostly a downhill one on the route they took. But he had no idea for sure…and honestly didn't focus on it that much. His concern was more for Anna.

At last, as they came up one last ridge and began to go into a faster slope, he saw it. The frozen fjord up ahead, and built around it…walls and gates of Arendelle and the castle rising up from it, blanketed with snow like everywhere else. It was for the castle that Sven immediately changed his course and ran full speed toward. As they were headed downhill, they actually were able to pick up some steam.

They continued to race together until they neared the outskirts of town. Once there, Kristoff, eyes on the castle, nevertheless called out to the snowman. "Stay out of sight, Olaf!"

"Not a problem!" He cheerily answered as he began to "sled" in a different direction. "I'll just take in a scenic look at the city streets!" Right after finishing saying this, he veered off…and right down one of said "city streets" in between two houses, soon vanishing from view all together. Kristoff was already long gone a moment later when the echo of a voice arose from it, saying: "Hello!"…which was immediately followed by a woman's scream.

Kristoff, on his part, led Sven right through the outer gates. Not a problem. By now, whatever in the city wasn't covered with snow was coated with frost. It was the middle of the day, but one would hardly tell from the gray-white skies and bleak atmosphere. There were no guards posted anymore. The people had shut up their houses and were burning the last bit of firewood right now. Nothing stopped them as Sven ran through the city streets and the bridge gate, tore against the stone walkway, making snow fly all the way, and finally went right up to the main gates.

There had to be someone still watching, with spyglasses from windows if nothing else, because when Sven finally ground to a halt and Kristoff dismounted, quickly pulling Anna off as well and rushing up to them, they were already opening up…or, at least, the service entrance was. He didn't have to call either, it seemed, as a trio of servants immediately appeared at the door and began to exit. They reacted in surprise to Kristoff…but more importantly the woman in his arms.

"Goodness alive…it's Princess Anna!"

"She's returned!"

Kristoff immediately carried her forward to them. "Here! Get her inside!" He said as he began to set her down. She was a bit wobbly, but apparently still had enough strength to stand and walk. And soon, the servants were around her. "Get her warm and summon Prince Hans at once!"

In moments, the servants were beginning to fret over her. All they needed to do was touch her to realize she felt like ice, and they immediately started to take her back towards the castle, muttering further about getting her in front of a fire. In truth, they seemed to mostly ignore Kristoff. One of them was cordial enough to say a "thank you, young man", but other than that their sole concern was Anna. The mountain man didn't care, to be honest…so long as they did see to her immediately.

"And make sure she stays warm!" He shouted as they went on ahead.

However, they only went a few more steps before halting. Kristoff nearly shouted at them…before he saw the reason. Anna, still trembling and looking weak, nevertheless turned back to him and managed a smile.

"Kristoff…" She called out. "T-Thank you…f-for everything."

The mountain man looked back, and managed to give a weak smile of his own. Anna paused, seeming to try and stretch out the moment as long as she could, before she turned forward again. When that happened, whoever was gatekeeper began to shut the service door again.

"And…" He began to say, although weaker this time. "Remember…get…" He hesitated. "…Prince Hans." He finally managed to say, this time only speaking the words, right before the door closed with a heavy thud, right in his face. He stood there silently afterward, facing the frozen, frost-covered gates. The echo of them shutting slowly faded. A wind came in from over the fjord. Still, he stood there.

He wasn't smiling. His eyes weren't even looking bright.

_And…that ends my part of this story._ He thought. _Now…the part where she lives happily ever after with her prince begins…_

As he stood there, he thought about the past two days. For all of the life and death experiences that had occurred, and all of the craziness that had unfolded…he couldn't honestly really remember that clearly anything that had happened before he ran into Anna at that trading post. Everything before then seemed so…dim…and distant. Every memory he had over the past few days seemed "sunny" and bright, as if the world had been illuminated by the natural glow that Anna had always carried around her. Even just seeing her smile at him had almost eased the pain at the thought that, once he had safely delivered her back to Arendelle, he would never get to see her again.

…Almost.

And he got a faint, foolish desire in his head, standing there in front of the heavy wooden doors.

He almost wished, back with Bulda and Cliff and all the others, that he _had_ decided to act a bit crazy himself…and ask her to break off the engagement and be with him instead.

_Now it's too late._

Letting out a long, slow exhale, he turned his head to one side. While he had been standing there, staring at those doors, feeling weighed down by their shadow over him, Sven had moved up to him. The reindeer had a mournful look of his own. He looked up to the gates and let out a sad whine, and then looked over to Kristoff next.

However, the mountain man merely reached out and gave him a pat, and then turned and began to walk back across the bridge. "Come on, big guy. Let's go home."

The reindeer only looked more hurt at that. He looked to Kristoff a moment, back to the gate, and then back to him. However, the young man didn't turn. Sven looked to the doors one more time, gave another moan, and then turned and began to follow him.

* * *

By this point, almost all of the castle had been abandoned, in spite of the number of the servants. The only places that still held people was wherever there were fireplaces. One of them was the royal study, which currently had a fire that had just been started, as well as lights from the candles. Five of the nobles were currently gathered there…the only five other than Prince Hans who had elected to remain in the castle when they learned that Queen Elsa was being held in the dungeon. One of them, remarkably enough, was the Duke of Weselton…although there was little doubt on anyone's mind as to why he was there. The truth of the matter was the only people who were brave enough to be in the same castle as the queen were those who still believed she deserved a measure of mercy and lenience for what she had done. By reducing the pool to them, Elsa's survival had all but been assured. Yet all of them knew the real reason for the duke's sudden "surge in bravery". By now, all of them strongly suspected the whole reason his two men had been sent along was for an assassination mission, and that he was there to throw in a vote for the gallows…or simply stabbing her within her prison cell.

For now, there was still a semblance of order in the castle. The servants were still running about conducting their affairs, and the nobles still held up with decorum. However…that wasn't going to last. The shelter had fallen through, and after the latest assessment, based on how much was gathered yesterday and how much was being consumed just as quickly…the kingdom only had about six more hours of firewood in it. After that, the last load would have been thrown on the hearths, and fires would be burning low for the last time. Perhaps the kingdom could get by a little longer on broken furniture…but no one could go out and cut. It was clear that more decisive action than stewardship was needed…but there was no one to give it.

As for Hans himself, he was pacing in front of the fire at the moment, clenching and releasing his hands every few seconds.

"What did the queen say when you asked her to stop this winter?" One of the nobles asked.

Hans paused in his step, looking to him, but then exhaled. "…She said she couldn't."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" The duke snapped in response.

"It doesn't really make a difference unless _your_ option is considered, sir." Another noble responded darkly. "And, frankly, the idea of coming in and committing regicide on foreign soil without proper cause is appalling to me…"

"Without proper cause?!" The duke outburst. "Have you looked outside lately?"

"Last I looked, there's no law on any book, anywhere, to consider 'bringing about winter' a 'capital offense'." The noble answered.

Hans, at this point, swung one of his fists down. Turning fully forward, he shook his head and began to advance. "It's been too long. I'm going out there again. I don't ask volunteers this time. I'll go by myself if I have to…"

However, his path was immediately cut off as not one but two of the nobles stepped in front of him. "Prince Hans, no!" The one in the lead immediately stated. "We can't risk losing you too! You're the royally appointed steward!"

He began to protest. "Lady Anna-"

"With Lady Anna missing and Queen Elsa imprisoned," The noble cut off. "You are all that Arendelle has left."

The prince held here a moment. He seemed to think over these things, bowing his head and reconsidering. However, while he was still thinking, the doors to the room suddenly flew open. This caused both the nobles and the servants within to look up, just in time to see one of the older ones enter.

"She's back! Princess Anna has returned!"

At once, there was surprise and commotion from inside the room at this revelation. Hans himself looked up for a moment, but then quickly began to move through the crowd for the door. The servant who entered stepped to one side and went on.

"But…but my dear…she's so cold! She's just like ice!"

Soon, two more servants came in, bringing Anna with her. Sure enough…she didn't look too well at the moment. In fact, she seemed rather frail and sickly looking, barely able to walk forward on her own two feet. She was shivering all over, and most of her hair was white…although the surrounding nobles assumed instinctively that this was frost. Hans, however, who immediately advanced on Anna as she entered, soon saw more clearly that it was her hair color, something which made him react in a bit of shock. As the servants bowed and the other nobles began to show their own signs of respect, he alone started to move again and soon received her from the servants. Sure enough, on touching her, she felt cold as the grave.

"Anna…my darling…" He said as he moved to fully take over support of her.

However, Anna, on seeing Hans holding her, immediately reached out as well, almost ravenously, and put her arms around him too. Her eyes widened and looked into his with a sudden ferocity.

"Hans…" She said in between her shivers. "You have to kiss me." She practically begged.

The prince blinked a few times at that. "Anna, wh-"

_"Now!" _She cut off with sudden force…now definitely begging.

This sudden response, the first thing she said on entering the room, immediately caused no small amount of confusion, and even unease, among everyone. Both the servants and the nobles alike looked to her with slightly puzzled expressions, wondering if the princess had been that "love starved" or was that much of a "ball of hormones" that this seemed to be such a desperate thought on her mind the moment she walked in. On hearing it, and seeing the nearly wild look in her eyes, the head servant gave a somewhat weak smile as she looked up to both Hans and Anna together.

"We'll…just give you two a little time alone…" She said, before immediately looking to the other servants with a stern expression and motioning them toward the door.

"I…believe we shall excuse ourselves as well…" One of the nobles added, soon moving to gesture the others out.

As for Hans, now that he had Anna, he immediately leaned down and picked her up to carry her. He turned and let a few people pass before he made for the couch in front of the fire, laying Anna on it. As the others continued to file out, he looked more intently at her.

"What happened out there? You're freezing…"

"It was my s-s-sister…" Anna explained, shivering again now that she was speaking more quietly. The cold inside her felt so bitter now…like she had spent an hour naked lying in snow. "S-S-She…d-d-did this to me…"

Hans reacted in shock as the last servant left the room and closed the door behind him. "You told me she'd never hurt you."

"I was wrong…" The princess answered uneasily. She soon touched her chest with her bare hand, now exposed as the servants had removed her mittens on the way inside in an attempt to rub them to warm them. Although now, being in front of the fire, she was feeling a bit more at ease. Some of the coldness which clung to her was being pushed back. Her shivering was starting to subside a little…at least for now. "She struck me with her power…and froze my heart. I heard…only an act of true love can thaw it."

Hans stared a moment, then suddenly raised a bit. "A true love's kiss…" He echoed, realizing what she meant.

She nodded back. "A kiss from my one true love…" She slowly answered.

Hearing that, Hans looked to her momentarily, and then began to lean inward. His gloved hand slowly reached out and gently touched her chin, and the fingers came out to slowly cup it. He stared longingly into Anna's eyes for a second, and then closed his own and began to lean toward her. Anna, on seeing this, closed her own eyes, letting Hans lift her chin, and began to stick her lips out to receive it. She felt Hans draw closer. Could feel his warmth and his breathing over them…

And then, she heard him speak softly to her.

"Oh, Anna…if only there was somebody out there who loved you."

Anna did not feel the ice move…but in spite of that, as Hans' hand left her cheek and his face retreated…she nevertheless felt something cold sink into her heart. Her eyes opened up…just in time to see the last of a very unwarm and unkind expression on Hans' face, with a smirk that was not in the least bit pleasant, lean away from her before he stood up. Anna could only stare blankly back.

_What…what did he…just…?_

Shock began to flood into the princess, but something much deeper and more painful than that as well...hurt.

"You…you said _you_ did."

In response, Hans merely gave a slight head shrug before letting out an exhale and beginning to pull at the fingers of one of his gloves, all while walking around the couch.

"Being the thirteenth son of the lord of the Southern Isles…" He said as he moved. "I had no chance of getting the throne in my own country. My only shot was to marry into one…"

The hurt and shock increased even more in Anna as she trembled all over…and not from cold…as she stared at him, watching him as he casually moved to the window and pulled the curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness save for a candelabra and the fire.

"H…Hans…?"

"Naturally," Hans calmly went on as he pulled off the glove. "Elsa, being the older one and the queen, would have been the natural choice…"

He reached the candles and extinguished the first with his bare handed fingers.

"But no one was getting anywhere with her."

The second candle went out.

"So I set my sights on you."

And the third.

Anna was horrified at what she was hearing. "What…what are you say-"

"It wasn't hard." He went on. "You were so lonely and desperate…just for anyone…anyone at all to come and sweep you off your feet…" He said as he went to a serving tray nearby, and took up the water pitcher. "I mean, who would believe that anyone could propose to a girl they just met on the same day and she'd agree to marry them just like that?" He actually grinned a bit at the notion while looking at Anna…but it wasn't a warm grin. It was more of a mocking one, as one does to a fool. He soon turned away again and moved up to the fire, still warming up at this point. "I figured after the ceremony," He mentioned as he leaned the pitcher over. "We'd have to arrange for a little…"

He soon began to slowly pour it over the logs, smothering them and quenching the fire in a matter of moments.

"…'accident'…"

Anna, gazing at the dying fire, actually leapt off of the couch. "N…No!" She exclaimed…but not too loudly. Certainly not enough for anyone to hear from where she was. Yet it was too late. The fire's last ember went out from the water, and Hans even had enough remainder to pour on the smoldering remains. The cold began to run into the room immediately. With this weather, it would take only a minute before the room was below freezing again. However, things were much worse on Anna. Deprived of an external heat source, it took only moments before she was shivering all over again, and the deathly chill began to pervade her to her core…

"…to happen to your sister." Hans continued without missing a beat, turning away from the fire and back to the serving tray. "But that would have been such a messy, complicated affair."

"P-P-Please…" Anna began to beg from her position on the floor, already shivering uncontrollably and rapidly feeling colder…enough to where it was actually growing painful…

"But then, _you_, once again, came through for me and took care of it all." He said as he set the pitcher down on the tray. "First you get in an argument with your sister that creates this winter…and then, you stupidly go out running after her into the wild and have _this_ end up happening to you. All that's really left to do now is…" He gave another simple shrug. "Kill Elsa, end the winter, and then take my place as king of Arendelle."

For one half-second more, Anna considered continuing to beg…to plead…to call out to Hans that if he had any love for her at all he'd at least relight the fire… Yet as she listened to his calm, calculated tone…the utter nonchalant way he spoke of how he planned to murder her sister to begin with…and how he planned to kill her now…about how he saw her as nothing more than a tool…Anna gained a sudden epiphany of maturity. At that moment…she realized her old romance stories and fairy tales were just that: stories and fairy tales. Her dreams of dressing herself lovely, being the most adored girl at a fancy ball, and having a handsome, perfect suitor come, sweep her off of her feet, marry her, and live happily ever after was not only a highly unrealistic vision…it was a highly foolish one. It was what all women like her were encouraged to embrace and believe in with all their hearts, hoping against hope, would come true some day…and to spend their lives waiting in blissful preparation for that moment. But not only was it untrue…there were men like Hans in the world who fed off of that dream and happy fantasy and used it to exploit people, to lead them around by their heartstrings, and to trick them into doing anything they wanted for their own gain.

Elsa had known better…because she wasn't one of those "typical" girls. She didn't just carry herself around like a queen because she had gone through all the proper etiquette lessons…it was because that's what she _was_. Someone smart and clever and cautious enough to stay on guard from people like Hans, to know to keep them at arm's length when they worked so much on her feelings… Anna realized now _that_ was why she wanted to call her aside that night. She wanted to tell her not to let "following her heart" lead her into a trap. She wanted to warn her… But she foolishly dismissed the entire thing as Elsa just trying to "ruin her fun" or "stop true love"…when the truth was she was trying to do the same thing she had been doing for thirteen years in the only way she could: protect her from harm.

And with this sudden maturity, Anna further realized that there was no point in sacrificing the last of her pride, dignity, and energy groveling before Hans. He was soulless…nothing more than an oversized piece of clockwork that could dance and perform but could not feel. Weak and freezing as she was, Anna managed to turn her look from innocence and hurt to one of firmness and anger.

Hans didn't seem to be too miffed, however. In fact, as he bent down to her side, he reached out and cupped her chin again, just as delicately and warmly as before. It disgusted her to think that she actually gained relief from his touch…

"Such a shame it couldn't work out between us, Anna. Considering how helpful you've been this whole time."

She looked up at him with a glare as icy as she felt. "You're no match for her." She said without a single tremble on her voice.

Hans looked thoroughly unimpressed. "No, _you're_ no match for her." He answered as he casually dumped his hand, letting her head fall. He soon rose to his feet again and began to pull on the white glove. "_I_, on the other hand, am the 'Hero of Arendelle', who is about to deliver this country from the winter curse of its evil queen." He finished before walking back to the doorway.

Anna, in spite of her shaking and weakness, forced herself to crawl on all fours after him. With the last bit of defiance she possessed, she called out. "You won't get away with this!"

Hans, on his part, had reached the door, and opened it up to step halfway out of it, before pausing and looking back.

"Oh Anna…I already have."

With that, he stepped fully out, and soon the door handle clicked as the lock turned.

Immediately, Anna forced all of her remaining strength to bear and crawled over to the doors. On reaching them, she seized the handle and began to shake it, trying to get it open…but it was no use. At full strength, she might have been able to break it…but not now when she was so weak…so cold… She only had one hope now.

Pressing herself against the door, she called with of her strength.

"Help…!"

Much to her fear, her small voice barely came out. It could barely be heard through the door. She tried again…even though she already felt too weak to call as loudly as before.

"Help…!"

She was about to call a third time, or maybe shake the handle until someone heard…when she felt the icy knife move in her chest again.

Instantly, she arched up and gave a gagging sound…unfortunately a quiet one. As the last strands of her red hair turned white, she collapsed back in the dark, freezing room. The coldness in her doubled…overriding all other thoughts. Thoughts of Hans…thoughts of Elsa…thoughts of Arendelle…nothing but deep, deep cold… She began to curl into a ball and draw her arms in on herself, teeth chattering loudly. As she started to slip into the first stages of hypothermia, she became completely helpless. She couldn't move anymore. She felt too tired to even lift her head off the carpet. As she shivered violently, the cold growing painful all over her body in whatever places she wasn't feeling herself go numb, she weakly tried to call out one more time…but all that came from her lips was a trembling mutter.

Unable to do anything else…she felt herself slowly start to black out, the only thought left in her head how cold she was…

* * *

The Duke of Weselton let out an angry grumble to himself. They had just lost another room to the infernal, cursed winter outside…along with the rest of the hall. They were relocating again, closer to the center of the castle. They had no choice, not with fuel running low. It didn't make sense to keep an entire "cold-surrounded" hallway open just to keep one room with a fireplace going. And pretty soon, there wouldn't be any rooms left at all. All because those two bodyguards of his couldn't do their job…

He rubbed his arms and shivered. He was lingering behind at the corner of this hall, hoping to get a talk with Prince Hans when he came out of his "chat" or whatever he was doing with Princess Anna…no doubt with the goal in mind of "warming her up" in one way or another. Perhaps now that he had his "dearly beloved" back with him again, he would open up to reason and stop all this talk of treason and do what had to be done. Surely even he could see, with less than six hours remaining of fuel, they had to do _something_ drastic.

Even as he thought of this, he suddenly caught him. Hans was walking down the end of the hall and turning the corner. Amazingly…he looked a bit more confident than he had up until now. Not nearly so conflicted or troubled. He seemed like a much cleverer person as well. Most of all, the duke noticed that Anna wasn't with him. He found that a bit suspicious… Even if she was left behind, surely he wouldn't be leaving her in the frigid hallway, would he? Then again, it concerned him little either way. He soon approached him as he came about.

"Prince Hans, I-"

"Sir Duke of Weselton…" He cut off immediately. However, the tone wasn't sharp. It was far more relaxed. Far more calm and casual. Nothing like the tongue lashing he had gotten in public just yesterday. It was enough to stop the duke more out of puzzlement than anything.

"Let me ask you a question," Hans proceeded. "How badly do you want to end this winter?"

* * *

Three minutes later, the duke gathered with the other nobles. They had relocated to the former king's own meeting hall. There was a larger fireplace there, although, to save wood, only part of it was stoked. The windows were also already open, the glass overlooking the snowy landscape, and were rapidly being shuttered by the servants. Only one side of the table was occupied, the one closest to where the ruling monarch would be seated. Many of them wondered if Anna would be well enough to take that position…

When the duke arrived, those gathered asked where he had been, and he reported that Prince Hans had suddenly burst from the room, looking for someone, anyone, and then asked him to come in to "bear witness" to something. When he went inside, he said he saw Princess Anna as white as sheet, shivering uncontrollably, and looking so weak it seemed as if a breath of air might kill her in a moment. However, she had enough of a voice to say she wanted someone to watch what happened next, as she exchanged marriage vows with Prince Hans in that very room. After that, he departed. The last he saw was Hans holding her tightly to himself.

Naturally, the nobles were all concerned about what this meant, and soon asked if it was worse than it looked…if the princess was actually dying. However, the duke didn't dwell on that long. He soon defaulted back to his same old tirades that he had until now, ranting and raving over the next few minutes about how they were wasting time the longer they debated.

"It's getting colder by the minute out there!" He insisted. "If we don't do something soon, we'll all freeze! I don't think we have the resources to last through another night!"

In spite of how tired and repeated this was…after hearing it so many times…after this latest news regarding Princess Anna…after having the queen herself in the palace dungeons…and with things growing worse and bleaker outside…even those who held the greatest esteem for the royal family and loyalty to the king and queen who had come before Elsa began to balk. They started to realize their sympathy for the family wasn't worth people beginning to die…and none of them were sure how many more hours it would be until that started to happen… The mixture of the unnatural situation and the distressing news was beginning to work against them…

Yet at length, they were all distracted again when the door to the room opened. Everyone looked forward…and saw Prince Hans…looking pale himself now. His eyes were wide, his face stricken with grief, and he seemed like a man who had just been through a shipwreck. He was completely silent as his jaw hung loose. He began to stagger forward, seeming only to be half-aware of what was going on.

"Prince Hans!" One of the nobles exclaimed as he ran to his side.

"Are you feeling alright?" Another asked as he went to his other.

The prince didn't answer. He was beginning to breathe hard and struggled to walk forward. He looked as if he too might collapse at any moment. The two men immediately began to lead him to the nearest chair…which happened to be the one at the head of the table.

"What on Earth happened?" The one at his right asked.

"Where's Princess Anna?" The other asked. "Is she alright?"

Hans slowly slumped into the chair…but once there bent over and lowered his head. He breathed a few more times once there. Without looking up, he finally spoke.

"Princess Anna…is dead."

Shock immediately rippled through the surrounding nobles.

"What…dead?"

"How? She was cold, but…"

"It was Queen Elsa." He answered. "She told me…she confronted her. And when she did, the queen froze her heart. It was slowly killing her ever since she came back… I did everything I could, but…" He swallowed, his face beginning to tighten as tears formed in his eyes. "…It was too late. She told me before it was too late…if she didn't make it through this…that she wanted us to be together… So I went through with it, but…I had no idea it was going to be some of the last things she ever said to me…"

He closed his eyes as his throat tightened.

"She died in my arms…and no matter how tightly I held her…she felt so cold…"

The nobles stood in stunned silence. They stared at the prince for a long while, this latest shock making them even more distraught and confused. They slowly looked up and to one another. After a time, however, the duke spoke.

"She murdered her own sister…"

This caused the other nobles to look to him.

"If you wanted a capital offense, gentlemen…you have one now. There's no question about it any longer. The queen is a monster and must be destroyed. For the good of the country if nothing else."

The others were still hesitant and reluctant. They looked to each other a moment longer, before looking back to the grief-stricken Hans. Although two witnesses were normally needed…given the situation, that was almost a trifle. If she had been dying, then naturally she could have only had one. And Hans had been the royally appointed steward. If Anna was dead and Elsa was now a criminal, then the right to make the decisions passed on to him. Besides, he was the one who the people trusted more than the rest of them after the action he had taken yesterday, how he had acted in everyone's best interest and selflessly moved forward himself, taking charge. Even if there was a bit of a question regarding the validity of the marriage, it was clear now that the one among them best qualified to rule Arendelle was still sitting before them.

"Prince Hans…" One of them said slowly after a moment.

The prince managed to open his eyes, although he only looked up slightly.

"Arendelle now looks to you. What is your decision?"

He held for a few moments. He seemed to be thinking about everything for a few moments more, and finally exhaled as he started to look up.

"…With a heavy heart, I have no choice but to act according to Arendelle's laws." He said in a shaking tone, trying his best to sound "noble" or "official". "I find Queen Elsa guilty of the crime of treason against Arendelle and the murder of her sister…" He paused again, swallowing, and finally managed to force out the next part. "…And…I sentence her to death."

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And this is the second and last scene I added. Hans' little bit in the movie where he tried to claim Anna's last act was marrying him wouldn't hold up anywhere, but especially not without witnesses. So I figured I'd give the protagonists a bit more reason to despise the "subordinate villain" for this story with that brief sequence, and closed up a plot hole in the process.


	11. Chapter 10 - The Act of True Love

_Chapter 10 – "The Act of True Love"_

* * *

Elsa wasn't sure how much time she had left…but she knew she had to get out of here. It had been quiet for too long. No guards would even stay posted in front of her cell. She knew they all distrusted her now…all feared her. She found it hard to believe Hans would be able to say anything to dissuade them. However…she knew something else too...

Outside…the wind was picking up again, and snow was starting to fall.

She was fearing for her life again as well as the safety of Arendelle and her sister. And she was feeling more fear, distress, and despair than she had ever experienced before. She knew that, as a result, the storm would flare again. This time it wouldn't be flurries. It wouldn't be an overcast day with a steady snow. It was going to be much worse. She could almost feel the air already breeding a storm… She had to get out of Arendelle now…as fast and far as she could. And she had to do so soon…

Again, she tugged and pulled at the irons. Yet for all her straining and struggling, she couldn't get through them. By now, they were beginning to line with frost, but that didn't help anything. She was still firmly locked to them. She had to do something…anything…to get out of them. To get out of this cell…

As she began to fret and feel more afraid, she heard it again. Crackling overhead. She looked up, and soon let out a gasp. Frost was beginning to line the poles and rafter of the cell above her. It was her power. It was expanding out of control again, beginning to coat the inside of the room. No doubt, the temperature had to have just plunged in the cell. As distressed as she was, this frost would soon begin to line other cells…other halls…would expand throughout the entire castle. It might kill people.

She pulled again on the chains for all she was worth, ice continuing to expand over them, but to no avail. She wasn't breaking free. Gritting her teeth, she strained and struggled, trying to at least slip her hands out of the iron mittens…but that was no good either. She cried out in anger as she kept pulling, ice expanding over the iron mittens and…

…inside of them.

She paused on realizing that. She looked down to the iron mittens a moment…and a thought occurred to her. What if she froze the inside of them? Made the ice expand until it broke through them all together? It was worth a shot…

Immediately, she focused her power again. She felt both of her hands coat with ice, and fill until they were in the space within the mittens. After that, she made it expand. Much to her displeasure, she soon found her hands pinched painfully as a result, but she toughed through it. Trying to "insulate" her hands from pressure as much as possible. She began to expand the ice. She pushed and strained and made it larger and larger, struggling to force it out…to force it open…

Only to feel the ice crumble within her mittens when the pressure grew too great.

_Come on! Focus!_

Nearly hissing, Elsa concentrated again. The ice reformed and once again became solid. As hard and as strong as she could, she forced it out through her hands. It soon pressed again against the sides, straining and struggling…but in the end shattered once again.

This time, however, she heard the hinges of the iron mittens give just the slightest groan from being deformed…

A ray of hope shone. Unfortunately, it dimmed again a moment later when she heard an echo. Far away and down the hall, coming in through the barred window to her cell, she heard a heavy iron door open. She snapped her head up at that…and realized someone was coming. Not only that, but she soon heard multiple footsteps…each one grim and slow. Moments later, she heard a bit of muttering that sounded official… She couldn't make out most of it…but what she heard chilled her to the bone.

It was a proclamation for execution.

Turning back to the iron mittens, she began to reform the ice inside as quickly as possible…

* * *

Kristoff kept his head hung low as he ascended the hills overlooking Arendelle. He didn't look back. At first, he had gone away as fast as he could…but by now his pace had slowed almost to a death march. He didn't even mind the fact that it was colder than ever outside but he no longer had a head covering. He didn't really care about the cold or anything else right now… He just stared at his path as he slowly walked along. He couldn't stop thinking about Anna…no matter how hard he tried. He had never felt that way about a woman…or anyone else…for that matter… The way she just seemed to "glow"…and how fiery she was inside and determined…and stronger than any woman he had ever seen before…

To be honest, he wasn't sure what he was going to do now. Though he only knew her for a while, it seemed like every day would be colder and darker without her, even if the winter did end…

Abruptly, a grunt resounded. Although he only looked up slightly, he managed to see Sven spring forward before him, turn around, and face him. He had been too lost in his thoughts to notice, but the reindeer had been staring at him for some time…and over the last few moments his look had seemed to turned "annoyed"…even a bit angry. Now, he stood before Kristoff and let out a growl.

The mountain man paused and looked up at him for a moment. Then, he merely looked away again. "Leave me alone." He said before trying to walk by him.

Before Kristoff could react, Sven suddenly ran forward and snatched the young man up in his antlers. With another gesture, he lifted him up in the air.

"What the… Hey!" He exclaimed.

The reindeer grunted as he began to carry Kristoff back the way he came down. The mountain man formed an angry look.

"Put me down right now, Sven!"

He did so…but not gently. He threw his antlers and unceremoniously dumped him in the snow, rather harshly. The move was actually a bit painful. Giving a grumble, Kristoff grit his teeth and forced himself up. When he did, Sven put his muzzle in his face and let out a rather long and furious "diatribe" of grunts and growls at him.

Kristoff stared back silently. "…I can't understand you when you're angry."

The reindeer grunted again, much more "clearer". However, the young man only fumed on hearing it.

"What do you want me to do? It's over! She's with her true love!"

In response, the reindeer merely gave Kristoff a stare. He didn't have to grunt anything that time. The look clearly conveyed exactly what he meant to say.

_…Is she?_

Kristoff hesitated. He stood there, his own hardness fading again, and thinking of what he had said earlier. He told Anna himself…how foolish it was to marry a person she had just met and known for one day. How she knew nothing about him in that time. Granted…he hadn't known her much longer himself…but didn't that at least give him the right to say that he was just as qualified to be with her? Didn't it give him the right to say he knew the "true" Anna more than her fiancé? Didn't it at least give him the right to say that he might care about her more than this prince?

That he might love her more? That he might have the right to say that love was just as valid as his?

Maybe more so?

_She _was_ smiling at me, wasn't she? Even when I placed that hat over her head, it had to have barely helped…but she smiled none the less. What if…_

_ What if I should have tried to kiss her first…?_

In spite of how painful it felt, at last Kristoff turned and looked behind him, back down to Arendelle. To look back…to think about returning…

However, on doing so…he saw a very unwelcome sight.

Arendelle was changing again. Namely by virtue of the fact that a very thick, very dark, and very low-hanging cloud was literally forming out of thin air over the castle. And it wasn't just a storm cloud either. It was sweeping around in a spiral, and rapidly expanding. Kristoff had never heard of a "hurricane" before in his life…but had he done so, he would have been tempted to think one was forming right then and there. However, he _did_ have experience with blizzards…and he could tell based on the shape of the clouds that one was coming…and one that likely had never been seen in Arendelle, or possibly Norway, since people could remember. It was rapidly building and expanding too… Wind was already picking up…so strong that he could see, even from this distance, that it was sweeping snow around in the city.

One thought rang through his mind as he saw that, sending a wave of fear into his heart.

_Anna…_

At that point, Kristoff didn't care whether Hans was there or not, or how much he cared about her or didn't care. Hans was the last thing on his mind. Anna was…and her welfare and safety was his only concern. Whether or not she was with her "true love" at that moment…he just wanted to get there and make sure she was alright.

Not hesitating anymore, he took off, running straight back down the hillside for Arendelle. He only ran a short distance before Sven, picking up his own speed, ran up behind him, again caught him up in his antlers, and proceeded to toss him up and onto his back. As Kristoff grabbed and held on tight, the reindeer brought himself up to full speed running back to the city…

* * *

The last bit of Anna's determination was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment. She wanted to sleep now so badly… Most of her body had numbed, and what was left was still bitterly cold. But her shivering was weakening. Her body was "giving up". She already felt like she was half dead as she lay in the dark, freezing room… Her eyes had shut, and this time…she felt for sure her consciousness would slip away and never return to her… It was no use. No one was around. Even if she had the strength to cry out, no one would hear her…

Yet as she was moments from giving in to the icy feeling filling her…she managed to hear something.

The door handle jiggling.

Slowly, her eyes cracked open. By now, her vision was blurring, and she couldn't see terribly well. She was only semi-conscious as it was. Yet she wasn't imagining this. The door handle was jiggling. Someone was at it. What more…they didn't give up on it. They didn't merely test to see if it was locked and then moved on. They kept working at it. In fact, more furiously.

Anna weakly looked to the door…but she didn't even have the strength left to lift her head. She was so cold her mind could barely recognize that someone was there. As whoever was one the other side continued to fight with the door, she tried one last time to call for help…but it came out only as a weak exhale. She could barely hear it herself…

The door continued to shake for a moment longer…before, at last, a clicking went out. The sound of the lock undoing. Soon after, the door swung open…revealing a carrot protruding from the lock. A moment later, a stick arm reached out, took it, and placed it back on its face.

Olaf, smiling and happy as always, calmly waddled into the room. "So…this is what a castle is like…" He remarked as he looked around. "Very roomy! Just wish they wouldn't lock the doors like that…"

Anna could only look at him. She couldn't even say his name. Luckily for her, the snowman looked around a moment later and spotted her. Instantly, he gasped in shock. "Anna!"

He ran to her side, but the princess was helpless to do anything in response. She could only give out another violent shudder and chattering of teeth as she struggled to make a sound. As for Olaf, he looked over her with concern for a moment. He may have not been especially quick witted…but he knew what had happened to Anna before now, and he knew right now that she was freezing to death and needed to be warmed immediately. Quickly, he began to look about the room a bit frantically…before he spotted it.

The fireplace.

At once, the snowman waddled over to it. Looking over it, he noticed that a good part of it was soaked and wet. However, that didn't stop him. Immediately, he looked to the wood pile nearby and grabbed a set of fresh, dry logs, and then threw them into the fireplace. After that, he grabbed a deal of kindling and threw that on as well…before letting out a yelp as he realized he had accidentally added his left arm in the mix. He quickly snatched it out and reattached it before looking around again…soon finding the matches.

Anna, by now, had managed to raise her head ever so slightly, and looked up to Olaf. In spite of the feelings of intense cold, her dulled wits realized what he was doing…what he didn't know would happen if he got in front of a heat source… Yet when she tried to say something, only another violent shudder came out. She struggled to gain her strength…to form words…

However, as she did, Olaf had found a match. He struck it against the stone, and then reached it out to the kindling. After a moment of holding it, the dried sticks lit up, and soon spread out to the rest of the kindling bits. Within moments, the entire fireplace was lit up in a bright glow as it erupted into flame.

And when it did…Olaf's jaw dropped as he let his arms fall and stared at the fire, as if mesmerized. His eyes stared at the flames dancing about as he showed a look of being totally captivated.

Finally, Anna got enough of her bearings to speak somewhat clearly. "O…Olaf…g-g-get away f-f-from there…"

If the snowman heard, he didn't react. He was too enraptured by the fire. He let out a slow exhale of amazement.

"So _this_ is heat…" He stated breathlessly, reaching his hands out to it. "It's so warm…and wonderful to behold…"

As he reached his hands closer…abruptly a spark went out and touched his right hand. Almost at once, a small flame broke out on it. Instantly, Olaf shot back in alarm and began to shake it furiously. "But not to touch!" He yelped in response before managing to extinguish himself. After doing that, he quickly turned back to Anna and waddled over to her. He began to pull her in front of the fire.

Anna wanted to protest more, to tell Olaf to stay away from the fire, knowing what would happen as the logs caught and the warmth expanded…but she was too cold and weak to say anything else. She had no choice but to let Olaf pull her. She ended up being only about two feet from the fire. Normally, this sort of distance would be painful…but to her, it was as if a part of her was dead and coming back to life. As the fire continued to burn and heat washed over her, her shivering slowly began to diminish again. The numbness gradually began to ease. Her teeth chattering grew quiet, and her thoughts started to become clear again.

Yet as she revived, that only brought a multitude of dark thoughts to mind. Hans had tricked her…and had just tried to murder her. Now, he was going to try and murder Elsa as well…although Anna was a bit more confident that it would be alright there. Elsa was stronger…and wiser…than she was. She'd see through him…she hoped. Yet that didn't change the fact that the situation was only growing worse. Arendelle was still frozen. Elsa would be branded a criminal once Hans framed her for Anna's "death". And although the fire was warming her for the moment…the young woman knew this was only stalling the inevitable. That much was clear from the fact that even as her body warmed…it had a lingering chill about it. Pretty soon, even fire wouldn't keep her warm… She was still dying. Her last chance at salvation had vanished with Hans' false front being exposed…

After gaining enough of her bearings, enough to where she could clearly speak again, Anna looked up to the snowman. "Olaf…you have to get out of here… You can't survive like this…"

"Not until I've made sure that Hans gives you the true love's kiss." The snowman retorted.

However, Anna only grimaced bitterly at that. "…He won't. He's the one who locked me in here. I was wrong about Hans. He only wanted to use me. He never really loved me…" Her head bowed a bit and then exhaled. "Olaf…just go. It's over for me…"

The snowman remained indignant, though. "I am _not_ leaving your side until I've found you another true love to give you that kiss."

As sweet as the sentiment was, Anna bowed her head and sighed hopelessly. "…I don't even know what love is…" She muttered.

She sat there momentarily, head bowed, thinking about what was going to happen now… Thinking of how foolish she had been to so easily fall head over heels about Hans… Thinking about how that, of all things, had been what ended up causing this mess…

"Oh…that's easy." Olaf suddenly spoke up.

The young woman raised her head a bit, as she felt Olaf adjust her cloak slightly to cover her up a bit more.

"Love is…well…" He said as he did so. "Putting someone's needs before your own. You know? Kind of like how Kristoff ran off and left you forever because he thought you'd be happier with Hans?"

Anna lifted her head slightly on hearing that. She blinked, and then turned to Olaf.

"W…wait…" She responded. "Kristoff…loves me?"

Olaf looked back at her silently, and then crossed in front of her so that he was sitting adjacent to her in front of the fire, looking a bit sad.

"Gee, you really _don't_ know what love is, do you?" He asked. As he did so…Anna realized that quite a bit of his surface was glistening with moisture. Not only that, but his nose began to slide off of his face. However, without missing a beat, the snowman reached up and pushed it right back on…even as droplets of his head began to start falling off and to the ground.

The princess reacted with a fearful grimace. "Olaf, you're melting!"

The snowman just smiled back as he always did, continuing to drip. "Some people are worth melting for."

Anna stared back for a moment, but couldn't help, in spite of the situation, smiling a bit at the sweet sentiment. Even as she did, however, Olaf's smile began to slump to one side, along with half of his head, which seemed to be turning into slush. The snowman realized this, and quickly reached up with his stick arms and forced his head back up and together.

"Just…maybe not right this second…" He said through his compressed mouth.

Shortly after saying this, the window to the room suddenly snapped open, the result of a powerful gust of wind outside. At once, a powerful icy breeze shot into the room, reaching all the way over to both of them. Anna instantly winced and recoiled, pulling closer to the fire. Although it was more of a welcome relief to Olaf, he soon gaped on seeing the fresh icy blast come over the young woman. He quickly began to waddle away from her and toward the window. "Oh…stay here! I'll get it!"

Anna was hardly in a position to argue, quickly turning her body in front of the fire and her cloak to the wind. As for Olaf, he rushed as fast as he could over to the open window. It was a welcome relief, causing his head to refreeze and start to firm up again. However, he knew enough to know it was also much colder than any other wind he had run into yet, and would be deadly to Anna. He quickly hopped up on the nearest seat next to the window, and reached out to grabbed one of the glass shutters and swung it closed before locking it. He began to reach out for the other one…when he paused. A moment later, he reached out for one of the long, dangling icicles at the window, snapped it off, bit off the end, and then held it up and out before one of his eyes, as if it was some sort of spyglass, and looked to the hills around Arendelle.

A moment later, he gave a happy call. "Oh look! Sven and Kristoff are running back here as fast as they can!"

Immediately, in spite of the cold wind, Anna turned her head back. "What?"

Olaf soon slumped unhappily, and turned back to Anna. "Oh…I'm sorry, Anna. I guess Kristoff _doesn't_ love you enough to leave you forever…"

The young woman paused. She thought for a moment. She could hardly argue at this point that she didn't have a good concept of love…not after she had fallen head-over-heels about Hans because he was handsome and said all of the right things to her. She had hardly known Kristoff any longer…and he was one of only two young men she had ever had a chance to interact with. There was a chance that this was just as empty and false as her love for Hans had been…

But…

Kristoff hadn't come across being handsome and suave and perfect in every way when she met him. She had only grown to like him later…when she saw how caring and sweet he could be…how he seemed to slowly gain an appreciation for her rather than immediately tell her everything she wanted to hear. And as she sat there, she realized when she last saw him…she didn't want to turn away when she looked at him through that gate. How she didn't feel her life was in danger until she reached the castle and was brought before Hans…how when she was riding with him, feeling him holding her against him, she felt safe…like everything would be fine… And the trolls had been right… The smile she had given Hans had been one of dreamy, dumbstruck fantasy. Kristoff made her smile because just being around him made her feel…happier…

Finally, there was one other thought that came to mind.

When she had seen Hans on coming back, what had her first feeling been?

Desperation…wanting him to kiss her as soon as possible to save her life.

What was her first feeling when she heard Kristoff was coming back?

Happiness.

_Could it…_

At this, Anna looked to the snowman. "Olaf…help me get up."

"Oh, no Anna!" He responded as he quickly jumped down and waddled closer to her again. "You need to stay in front of the fire and keep warm!"

"Olaf…" The young woman responded more firmly. "I _need _to get to Kristoff."

He blinked in response, clearly confused. "…Why?"

Anna gave a half smile and a look to him. Olaf stared back a moment, before he suddenly let out a gasp of acknowledgement. "Oooooh… Oh! You think Kristoff might be… Oh, I get it! Let's go!"

The princess held just a moment longer. She knew by now her hair had to be totally white. She was running out of time. The fire was warming her for now, but once she got up and started to move…she'd cool rapidly and lose whatever strength she had regained even faster. The next time she felt a stab in her heart…it would likely be the last. But she had no choice. This was her last chance…

Facing the fire one last time, trying to soak in the heat as much as possible, she forced her feet underneath her and began to rise.

* * *

Hans led the way to the dungeons himself. Although he technically had "done his part" by ordering the execution, he wanted to at least keep up the appearance that he had a personal hand in it. Again, to maintain the "take charge" persona he had been selling the kingdom on until now. It would make for a much better "happy ending" if he would be the one who would strike down Elsa himself, but thanks to the duke's men…that possibility was eliminated. He wouldn't risk going up to her straight anymore. However…he had learned one thing back in the ice palace. Elsa might have been powerful, but much like her sister, she wasn't above having her emotions played on. And it seemed the more distraught and hopeless she felt, the less control she had over her power. That might be important before this was all over…

Both he and the guards with him had dressed in cloaks once again. After all, the entire dungeon wing was ice cold since Elsa had moved in. Of course, none of them had expected what happened when they arrived. Outside, the sky had suddenly turned darker and stormier than ever before. Snow at last began to come down…but now, it was no longer minor. It was a raging blizzard. Obviously, the queen was so fearful for her life at this point that her power was flaring more than ever. However, it mattered little…so long as it was outside. It wouldn't help her in here. Yet as they neared, they soon found out the effect wasn't limited to oudoors.

The halls were beginning to line with frost before their eyes. A crackling sound was heard as ice started to mount in corners and drip from the rafters. The queen's power was getting so unstable that she was coating the inside of the castle with ice as well as the world outside. However, Hans wasn't too miffed. Soon it would be over, and it wouldn't matter anymore. Until then, the ice only served to make the men with her more nervous and tense, increasing their fear that Elsa was indeed the monster she had recently been named.

At last, they came to her cell. This one showed the most amount of change. Ice was molded around the door frame. On seeing that, the guards all looked more uneasy. Some of them looked to one another. Others began to pull out their weapons, getting them at the ready. Hans, however, remained brave and led them on. Finally, they reached it, and the warden moved forward, inserted his key in the lock, and gave it a turn. Afterward, he grabbed the handle…and did nothing. He gave it a shake and a sharp tug or two, but with no result.

"It's frozen!" He exclaimed.

"The door goes inward!" Another guard answered. "Break it open!"

The warden answered by leveling his shoulder and driving himself into the door. There was a slight crackling, but it held firm. Another guard came up to him, went alongside, leveled his own shoulder, and soon drove it in as well at the same time. More crackling…but still the door remained sealed. Finally, four men all together lined up in front of it, and then went as one with all the force they could muster. At last, the crackling broke, and the entire door flew open.

Immediately, the men who stumbled into the cell recoiled again, feeling a freezing blast of wind and a flood of snowflakes whip past them. Weapons went up for a moment, figuring the queen had attacked…but such wasn't the case. They all looked up, and after only a moment…Hans himself pushed through them and went into the cell.

The wind and snow came from the fact that the wall had been broken down on one side. Outside, the howling blizzard was raging, with a white-out worth of snowflakes whipping around and coming down. One could just see the coast of the fjord, and one of the ships, leaning to one side as it was battered by snow and ice. There was no sign of Elsa. Just her iron mitten shackles lying on the ground, deformed, twisted, and broken open with a coating of ice.

Hans looked back to the opening, and saw the raging storm outside.

_So she's running for it after all… _He thought. _So much the better._

* * *

Anna didn't at all like the fact that she was already feeling cold enough to want to start shivering again, and all she had done was step out of the room with the fire in it. Olaf was taking her hand, leading her on as fast as he could. As she stepped out into the darkened hallway, she found it as abandoned and cold as the room had been a moment ago. No wonder Hans had locked her in there. There was no way anyone would have heard her… Yet right now, she tried to think as many "warm thoughts" as she could, and focused her strength. She had to do this as long as she could…even if she felt weakness begin to pervade her again…

Olaf looked around a moment, no doubt forgetting which way he had come in. As for Anna, however, she heard a loud howl from the room they had just left…coming from outside. Moments later, flakes were blowing in…and lots of them. It sounded as if a blizzard was beginning to break outside… Perhaps there was. Odd, though… She hadn't seen a blizzard yet. Was it because Elsa was distraught? Or…

Or because she was here?

_Hans sounded like killing Elsa would be easy…as if she wasn't far…_

However, she couldn't focus on that much longer. She had more pressing concerns. As she looked to the ceiling, she let out a gasp. Frost was beginning to gather on the rafters. More than that…ice was beginning to form on it. And not clean, neat ice either. Rather, long, deadly, jagged pieces of frozen ice that were rapidly expanding…and it was happening all up and down the hallway.

Maybe she _was_ here…

"Uh-oh…" Olaf gulped. "This way!"

Holding Anna's hand tightly, he immediately started to lead her down the hall. However, neither of them got more than about six steps when they both halted in their tracks. To their shock, the ice forming had spread to the ground level…and now large, deadly shards began to form in front of them, enlarging to fill up the hallway with razor-sharp, icy death. Both stared a moment, before they turned to the other side, seeing if they could go out that way. No such luck. The same was happening in that hall…and spikes were even arising from the room they had just left. Both sides were beginning to close on their location…but even if they didn't, they were trapped as the hallway grew colder…

Anna fought hard to suppress the urge to start shivering, as Olaf looked around for any other way…and found himself staring at the window across from where they stood, rapidly lining with frost…

* * *

Kristoff didn't bother leading Sven straight into the city. It would take too long to wind his way through the streets. He wanted to get to Anna faster than that, and instead led through the most direct path possible. As the storm he had seen building before him broke, and began to drop what looked like literally clouds of snow and frost on everything, he charged out with Sven directly onto the frozen fjord. Soon, the clomping of the reindeer's hooves against the ice began to echo all up and down the seashore.

Kristoff didn't mind the cold at all even as the wind began to whip and sting him. As he had dashed back, a new thought came to mind. What if they had been right? What if he was indeed Anna's true love? But if that was the case…if it was really him and not Hans…then that meant Anna's life was in more danger from just this sudden storm. _He_ had to be the one to kiss her. The thought made him curse mentally. More than once during that ride…he had thought of doing it. Just to see if it would work. But he never tried. He was too embarrassed…too much thinking that she didn't feel the same way…that she might even be angry if he attempted it… Now he felt like a fool for not at least giving it one shot…

Now he had to fix that before it was too late.

Ahead of them, the raging blizzard was already pouring over the fjord with all the look of an avalanche. It was raging, casting about, and worse than anything he had ever seen in his life. It was practically running up to meet him, and deep inside it…the castle was still a good distance.

Without fear or hesitation as he saw it looming, he called out to Sven. "Come on, buddy!"

The reindeer didn't slow. If anything, he somehow found it inside himself to push even faster. Kristoff, gritting his teeth, lowered his head toward the storm. Sven aimed his antlers at it as if he was attacking it head on. Seconds later…the two plunged right into it.

The blast was so strong that Sven nearly stepped back, and the wind so furious it felt as if it would rip Kristoff right off of his back. Yet in spite of that…both held on. As the frigid temperatures violently swept around them, and the wind made everything infinitely worse as snow slammed into them with stinging force, Sven let out a grunt and only continued to force himself on into the dense blizzard. They began to charge into the distant, phantom shadows of frozen ships looming about them…

* * *

At the price of most of Anna's "readily available" strength, she and Olaf had managed to kick out the window before it became too frozen for them to move. The wind, by now, was so fierce and violent outside that no sooner had they opened a way to the blizzard than it took up the windows, ripped them off, and bore them away into snowy oblivion. The wind blasted into Anna and cut deep into her in spite of her remaining clothes. Worst of all was her head and hands. Neither of them had any protection anymore, and they stung horribly. She felt her strength begin to slip at this…but grit her teeth and forced herself on. She couldn't stop now. Anything she had left had to be put into this…

Olaf quickly moved onto the windowsill and looked out. Normally, they would be trapped. But so much snow had mounted up against the castle at this point that it had practically turned into a snowdrift itself. There was an easy slope leading all the way down to the ground level. Anna soon climbed up to the windowsill as well. As the icy wind went around her, she looked down on the edge, and then pushed herself off. Olaf soon did the same. Moments later, after a "ride" that Anna no longer had the ability to think was "fun", she landed on the bottom. A bit quickly, but once there, she forced herself to stand and rush toward the nearest gate. Olaf himself had managed to "accumulate" a bit of "weight" on the way down, looking like a giant snowball by the time he landed. However, after yelling an encouraging "Keep going!" over the wind, he shook himself free and ran after her.

They weren't at the front gates now, but that didn't matter. Olaf had seen Kristoff approaching from this direction…and the princess hoped that he was taking the most direct route, namely that over the fjord. If he went back around to the front…then this would be for nothing. But she held on to that hope as she and Olaf struggled against the whipping wind toward the side gate, the one that connected to the shore and the docks. On arriving, she found it shut and locked, but luckily it was downwind of the gale blasting about. She held only a second once there. Until now, the presence of the castle and the walls had acted as a minor "windbreak"…but once she was out, there would be no further protection. Just cold. And already, just coming this far had reduced her stamina considerably. She was clearly shivering at this point, feeling numb in her hands and face… Yet in spite of that, she pushed herself on. With Olaf's help, this gate was opened, and she stumbled out.

The wind grew just as bad as she feared. It whipped around so fiercely that her snow white braids were flung every which way, and her shivering doubled. Cold pierced her…but she managed to somehow endure it. Forcing herself, more mentally than with physical strength, she made her feet walk forward and out of the gate. Olaf, on his part, struggled to follow after her in the gale as she went. Yet as the wind and blizzard whipped around them, and Anna managed to get to the edge of the fjord, and used much of the remaining power she had to lower herself down from the rocks onto the ice, the gale suddenly picked up around the snowman. Olaf's eyes widened a bit before his head suddenly was removed from his body…followed by his middle section, he rear end, his arms, his legs, his coal buttons, and even his nose.

"Go on without meeeeee!" He shouted before the wind whipped him around and carried him off.

Anna looked a bit behind her…but in the end could only hope that Olaf would be alright after this as he was after all the others. She was too cold and tired to do any more than that. Instead, she turned back to the ice, bringing her hands to herself, which were at least going numb enough to not hurt anymore, and then began to wander into the fierce, whipping winds as she called out over the ice, praying somehow she could be heard while her voice could still carry…

"Kristoff!"

* * *

A mile away, Kristoff couldn't hear her speak, but that didn't stop him from charging forward in the direction of the castle. As the storm raged on, he managed to hold his face up, seemingly impossible for the cold wind and snow to hurt as Sven tore across the ice. A lifetime worth of enduring every bit of cold, snow, and frost possible sustained him as he struggled to reach Anna…

The wind grew so severe that even Sven couldn't run perfectly straight, although as they went through the ice-covered ships, he evened himself out every few seconds. It was like wandering through some sort of dark ocean graveyard…seeing each one askew, sailless, and leaning one way or another all around them as they ran by. Yet as they continued to dash forward on this last stretch…Kristoff noticed something. The boats were beginning to groan. Like strange thunder noises, as they ran along, he heard the sounds of wood creaking and rocking, one way and another. He could hear ice crackling around him too…and feel it through Sven's feet even as he ran along. A bit farther, and he even saw the boats begin to twist a bit. The wind was so strong it was actually pulling them around. Most of them were in too deep in the ice to do any more than twist a bit.

Yet as he ran along, he saw one of the larger ones rising to his left. It turned a bit itself…only it didn't stop. As he watched, the entire ship began to rotate over to one side, turning more and more…until suddenly it snapped free from below, and began to roll over right onto the pathway he and Sven were taking. He thought of leading the reindeer wide…but it was too late. Like giant, skeletal fingers, the masts swept over them and came down around as the ship turned horizontal, and kept going, coming over the tops of them… He gaped. Lowering his head, trying to decrease the wind resistance, he held on as the ship kept turning over…as he saw the deck rise into the air and literally began to cast its shadow over him while he was still at the front of it.

As Sven "shot the gap" made between the deck and the main mast swinging down, the rest of the boat began to fall completely over from gravity rather than wind. The dark shadow made over the two by the ship soon began to grow darker yet as the entire deck started to come crashing down on them. Kristoff soon kept his head down not just out of a desire to decrease wind, but to make himself as "small" as possible. Sven lowered his own antlers as best as he could as the wood of the helm came down closer and closer to them, their heads narrowly scraping by the steering wheel…and finally shot out from under it just as the entire ship came crashing down in their wake. Sven's body was just tagged by bowsprit before he managed to shoot by.

Unfortunately, it seemed their problems with that ship weren't done just yet. As the two ran past, it slammed down into the ice…and Kristoff heard a large, twisted, almost unworldly cracking sound behind them from impact. After that, he heard a much more monstrous, resounding rumble. He risked looking up and behind him…and saw that the sudden cold snap was too much for the sea ice. The impact of the boat against it had caused a fracture to suddenly form it it…and now the monstrous break was radiating out from where the ship had landed, shooting in all directions…but especially, due to the bowsprit, toward him and Sven.

Kristoff may have been cold resistant…but he wasn't stupid enough to think he'd survive very long after falling into the ocean here…

He didn't bother spurring Sven on any more. The reindeer was already moving as fast as he possibly could, and he knew it. He merely held on and hoped they could outstrip it. However, the cracking continued to shoot out after them as if it was chasing them. As he watched, he saw one of the larger cracks from the bowsprit pull up parallel with them, and then outstrip them afterward. Smaller cracks radiated out for it, and began to zig-zag in front of their path and arc around, joining up with a larger crack on the opposite side. He felt the ground beneath them start to loosen up into pieces. He saw small spurts of long-restrained seawater fly up as they pressed down on some of them. He felt a bit of fear for themselves mix with his fear for Anna…

Finally, he saw the large crack arch completely around and meet with the other…far ahead of them. It terminated there, but unfortunately the ice between here and there was totally breaking apart. The gap widened and was creating loose ice floes. Water was becoming visible. He could feel them start to lower as their weight pushed down. And the solid ice was still too far. They weren't going to make it…

Sven apparently realized _they_ weren't either…which was why at that moment, before the ice gave way beneath him to seawater and he plunged through, he bucked forward…and threw Kristoff clear off of him and far to the shore on the other side, sending him crashing onto the safer ice before he went under.

The impact was as rough as hitting anything else solid, and Kristoff landed nearly face-first and slid. However, he didn't stay down long. Immediately, he scrambled back up onto all fours, snapped around, and looked behind him…seeing a section of icy water immersed with large and small ice floes all around.

"Sven!" He shouted.

There was no response…and no sign of a reindeer anywhere. However, he held and waited a few seconds, searching out over the rocking ice. Time passed. The ice continued to slosh out a bit as the rest of the cracks terminated, the wind and snow continued to howl violently, but nothing else…

Just as fear truly began to grip Kristoff's heart…he saw, as one of the larger pieces slipped down, a rack of antlers and a set of hooves come out from the water and land on it. Soon after, the reindeer surged out from the ocean and managed to sprawl on the ice just before it rocked back, the inertia pulling Sven out the rest of the way. He was soaked, but if there was any creature out there even more cold tolerant than Kristoff, it was his "unusual" reindeer. He soon let out a grunt to Kristoff.

_What are you sitting around for?! Keep going!_

The mountain man grinned back, a small measure of relief flowing into him. "Good boy…" He said before he got to his feet and kept rushing forward.

Unfortunately, he couldn't manage more than a fast walk. Unlike the strong reindeer, he couldn't buffet the wind nearly so strongly, especially with all of the stinging, blasting snow. Yet he forced himself on as best as he could…especially when, in a momentary break in the snow clouds, he caught just a faint trace of one of the tower roofs against the sky…before it vanished and he was again surrounded by ships.

_"Anna!"_ He shouted as loud as he possibly could…hoping somehow she could hear him…

* * *

The cold was getting too be too much for her again. Her legs felt like they were already frozen solid as she moved on in a stilted, jilting walk. Anna was feeling colder and colder by the second. By now, most of her extremities were numb and she couldn't feel her face any longer. The core of her body was so cold that the effects of hypothermia were returning, and it was only because she was focusing her dulling thoughts on making her legs move forward that she somehow managed to continue to wobble forward. She held her hands to her chest, barely able to move her fingers anymore, thinking she could somehow warm them as she was blown one way and another by the biting cold…

Then…she began to hear something faint over the snow. Something coming from her.

As she walked along, she held her hands out in front…and, in spite of her freezing feelings and dulled mind, she felt a fresh wave of fear. Frost was coating her hands before her eyes. Not only that…but the tips of her fingers were turning blue. And not blue in the sense that most people thought of…

Literally blue…and transparent.

Just like the ice in Elsa's palace had been…

_It's starting…_

Then, from out in the midst of the cold and furious blizzard…she heard it. It was faint, but due to the storm…she knew it wasn't that far.

_Anna…_

Turning her head up again, she stopped walking. Instead, she turned her strength toward solidifying her voice and crying out more loudly than she ever had in her life.

_"Kristoff!"_

* * *

The mountain man continued to walk forward through the gale, beginning to ask himself what he was thinking. She couldn't be out in this…could she? Perhaps she was, though. Perhaps she was coming out to reach him… But if so, then how would she ever hear him?

Yet against all his fears, he heard a voice return on the wind.

_Kristoff…_

Eyes widening, he charged in what he hoped was the direction it came from…

* * *

Elsa could have sworn she heard voices out in the blizzard as she tried her best to run across the fjord…but if she did, she couldn't make them out, and her mind couldn't focus any more on that. She felt too much pain and anguish. This storm all around her wasn't freezing her or hurting her…but the wind was blasting her around, tugging her icy dress every which way. And she knew enough that right now everyone was suffering for it…because of her. She couldn't stay here. She could never go back anywhere near Arendelle. She needed to go out as far as she could… Land…ocean…it didn't matter. Just so long as she was away from everyone…away from Arendelle…away from Anna…

As she tried to make her way through the raging storm of her own involuntary creation, however, she heard a voice again. This time…it was far closer than before. She could even make out who it was…

"Queen Elsa!"

The woman stopped in her tracks. She turned and looked slightly behind her. Slowly, she saw a shadow emerge from the storm, a gloved hand held up to his face. As he came closer, she saw who it was: Prince Hans. He shook his head at her. "You can't run from this!"

Elsa held, facing him a moment longer. "Just stay away from me!" She shouted back to him. "Find my sister and take care of her!"

However, Hans didn't stop. He lowered his hand a bit as he faced her. "Your sister is already here!"

The queen paused on hearing that. She turned her body fully around to him.

"She came back to the castle weak and cold!" He continued to shout as he too stopped. "She told me you had frozen her heart!"

Elsa forgot about her own fear and desire to survive the moment she heard that. Instead, she felt her own heart sink like a stone as she heard the phrase she had dreaded to hear ever since she was a little girl. At once, her mind went blank. Her jaw loosened, and her eyes began to enlarge. She realized back in that room that she _had_ hit her. But she also remembered what that troll said years ago…about how it was fortunate that she hadn't struck her heart…

"What…what are you saying?" She called back.

Hans focused on her, his look somber and pained.

"Your sister's dead, Elsa! Because of you!"

The storm may have been howling all around her and the snow battering down on her as much as everything else…but in that moment Elsa didn't notice at all. She didn't breathe…and she could have sworn her own heart stopped beating. Out of everything she had feared…out of everything she had tried to stop for thirteen years… Everything that her parents had taught her and encouraged her to do, all of the seclusion, all of the isolation, all of the "propriety"…there had been one reason and one reason alone, in the end, that she went along with all of it without protesting. One reason she restrained her own soul under an emotional straight jacket and never allowed herself to feel sadness and joy. And that was to avoid the fear she held far and above ever exposing her power, ever being hated by everyone, or ever hurting anyone else. And that was to keep Anna safe from her…to ensure what happened that night would never, ever happen again…

And now…the last part of her worst nightmare had come true.

She had killed her.

Elsa's strength evaporated. Her heart sank like a stone. Her muscles and legs turned to water. Her eyes shut…and she merely fell to her knees and then all the way to the ground.

At once…the storm shattered.

It was as if time itself had frozen. In the blink of an eye, all of the wind stopped. It didn't diminish or lessen…it just halted where it was. The snow that had been carried on it didn't fall to the ground either. It merely hovered there, suspended. Each perfect flake easily discernable. And, at once, the gray skies evaporated. The sky again turned blue, and the sun shone down, radiating through the snowflakes and bouncing everywhere in a billion points of light. In spite of the hovering snow, the day became bright and clear, even if it remained deathly cold.

It was reflecting the soul of its creator: immobilized. Without the will to go on anymore. Without any will at all to keep blowing or casting about. No more of the endless, heart-shaking fear. Just agony and hurt.

It wasn't even certain if Elsa knew it, the way she lay against the ground, her face in her hands…cold, icy tears flowing from her eyes. She only said one thing in between her soft sobs that was weakly audible.

"Please…kill me…"

* * *

Back in Arendelle, everyone was taking a moment to look outside. Although it was still cold out, and everything was covered with more snow than ever before, they all had to see what was transpiring. From the people living in the homes in the main city, to the guards at the various watchtowers that hadn't yet been evacuated due to lack of heat, to even the highest tower in Arendelle, where the nobles pushed open the shutters and actually stepped out onto the snow-covered balcony to look about at this wondrous sight, all eyes were on this most recent change to the weather. Everyone wondered what it meant…if the queen had been killed, or had a change of heart, or if this was some new development…

Many of them, however, were able to look out onto the frozen fjord as a result, in spite of being far…and saw human shapes on the ice…

* * *

Anna was quivering all over, losing her ability to think and speak again. By now, her body was lining with frost. Her very face was framed by great white frost flake etchings. She knew her toes had to be the same as her fingers. And right now…she could feel it inside her. The icy knife…pushing in for the last time. She couldn't be certain, but she knew she couldn't have more than a minute left…maybe less…

Yet through her dimmed vision…she saw it. The blizzard had stopped in place. Her view was clear.

And about a hundred yards ahead of her…stood the mountain man.

She blinked twice, and weakly called out. "K-K-Kristoff…"

He saw her too. And soon, she heard his voice shout back. "Anna!" Unhindered by any more wind or snow, he began to run toward her.

Fast as he was going…she knew he wouldn't make it. Not unless she went to meet him. But she had stopped moving to save it up for one last run…to use the last bit of life in her… She stepped forward…

And heard a sword drawn.

She paused, and turned her head…and saw them.

Through the blizzard, it was easy how she could have missed it. People could have been no farther than twenty feet apart and they never would have found each other, and depending on the way the wind had been blowing they would never have heard it either. But a short distance away…Elsa was lying on the ice. She looked as if she was weeping…grief-stricken…

And right behind her, sword naked, was Hans, already rising up to strike a fatal blow.

Anna couldn't call out. Her voice was gone. She'd barely get a whisper. She was feeling colder by the second…and losing the last of her feeling. The icy knife was sliding the last distance…

She looked in front of her. Kristoff was still too far. Based on his angle, the way he ran between ships…it was likely he couldn't even see it, or was too focused on her to say something… He wouldn't reach her in time…not unless she ran to him…

She looked back. Elsa wasn't moving…wasn't using her power… Hans was nearly there, taking his own time…maybe making sure the people in Arendelle could see him do this…

_I only have time for one…_

_ I only have enough life left for one…_

* * *

Hans couldn't help but grin, his true nature coming out. It didn't matter. No one could see the cruel and victorious look on his face. All they could see was the "prince of Arendelle" holding up his sword and about to strike down the "cruel and heartless sorceress" that had cursed them all. None of them would even know the reason the blizzard had broke and she was splayed out was because she was stricken with grief. They'd assume he had somehow cast her down. He was right all along…when she was like this, she was helpless. And after seeing her get knocked out back in the ice palace, he knew her body was frail and mortal. One strike would be all it would need.

With that in mind, he began to swing the blade down at her.

He was too late to stop himself as he heard a voice cry out with the last bit of strength it possessed.

_"No!"_

Elsa, on the other hand, raised her head at that…for she instantly recognized it. And it wasn't a memory that had been running through her head or her heart…but her. She turned around, and for a moment saw Hans bringing his blade down…before Anna's body shot in front of her with her hand extended up. For a moment, she saw her there…flesh…blood…and full of color…

Then, as that last word continued to ring out of her lips, she saw the center of her turn translucent and blue…flawless, perfect ice. It seemed to emanate right from her heart…and quickly spread across her chest, up her neck, shoulders, and down her hips…and then down to her arms and legs and over her head. Both her and her clothing alike. As it hit her fingers, Hans' sword came down on them…but it didn't break. This was "eternal" ice…and instead a blast of power radiated from the fingers and instantly smashed into him. He barely had a moment to react in shock to what had happened before his sword was shattered into fragments, and his own face twisted in surprise before he was violently flung away, cast about far onto the ice and away from the area.

The ice statue that had been Anna, locked in that last position she had made as she went before Elsa, let out one white puff from the mouth region as the echo from her last word died down…and then merely stood there.

* * *

Kristoff, who had tried as hard as he could to increase his speed as soon as he saw Anna run to one side, wondering what was possessing her…ground to a halt with only a short distance to go. He had seen it just in time…Anna jumping in front of Elsa as that man tried to kill her…and then what came after. Now…his own heart seemed to freeze as he stared at what was left behind. His world again grew dark and empty in spite of the clear sky…leaving him immobilized.

He was too late. No kiss would save her now.

On the edge, coming from the other side…for a moment there was an image of a happy, bounding, merry little snow man. Olaf had just managed to put himself back together and was running out…but on seeing what was ahead of him, all of his enthusiasm died. He halted where he was and stared with the same blank look.

As for Elsa…her mind and heart couldn't process it all immediately. It was too much of a shock. However…her mind soon removed everything Hans had said. It didn't matter now. What mattered was she was here and…

She was ice.

"Anna…_Anna!_"

At once, the queen rose off the ground and quickly ran in front of her. Her hands reached out and cupped her sister's face. It was perfect…a thousand times more perfect than her power had made her palace. She could see everything…ever tinted, minute detail she had in life…even the deepness of her own eyes. Only…it was ice. All blue, perfect ice. Not the slightest trace of life in it.

She held it furiously as her hands began to quiver.

"No…no… Please, God…no…" She choked as her heart felt like it was being smashed to pieces every second. Tears began to freely flow out of her eyes. Her sister… Her glowing, warm, wonderful sister… Who had to suffer for her curse all this time… She was gone…

She slid her arms around the statue and hugged it as tightly as she had wanted to hug Anna ever since the day she first came by her closed door and asked: "Do you want to build a snowman?" She sobbed against her chest, pouring out all the sadness and anguish in her heart that she had held in for years and years…how much love she had always wanted to show Anna and been helpless to do so for fear of this day coming to pass. Now it was too late… She'd never be able to tell her how much it meant to her having her as a sister…even if she could never even see her or let her love come out…

No one said a word. Even when Sven, his own look as mournful and downcast as Kristoff's and Olaf's, slowly came up…his footsteps seemed totally silent. The only noise anyone could hear was Elsa's crying. Far and away, back in the castle, by now the spyglasses had been brought out…and the nobles could see it as well. Could see the "cruel, heartless queen" they had taken Elsa for completely stricken with misery and grief as she embraced the remains of her sister.

Elsa didn't have any strength left. She tried to keep holding Anna…but it was too much for her. She had lost everything…although she would have gladly given up everything else in exchange for Anna. Her legs gave way, and she began to slide down her body even as she tried to hold onto her, leaving only one arm hanging from her shoulder… Her hand, unaffected by cold, remained hanging there.

She continued to cry a few moments more…until she felt a sensation in her fingers. She didn't recognize it at first, and her mind was too grief-stricken to process it. However, it eventually started to come forth when her mind clicked. She couldn't feel cold…

But she could feel warmth.

When that happened, she looked back up…and gasped. Not only her, but all those around her.

Warmth and color was flowing from Anna's heart region again. Once more, her dress became cloth and her chest became flesh. From there, it radiated out, up to the rest of her torso, to her neck and shoulders and hips, and then up her legs, arms, and head. In moments…Elsa felt Anna warm and alive under her touch, and the princess herself blinked as she slowly lowered her hand, seeming as amazed as everyone else that she was no longer ice.

Elsa, her heart feeling like it was beating again, quickly rose to her feet. She only was in time to catch one more thing…

Elsa's hair was fully red once again. There wasn't any white in it at all. Not even the white streak from when she had been a child.

After that, new tears rolling down her cheeks, these ones of joy, she came forward and hugged Anna even more tightly than before.

Anna let her own bewilderment last a bit longer…before she realized what was happening. For the first time in thirteen years…her sister was embracing her. Not only that…she was here. She was alive. At once, her own arms wrapped around Elsa and hugged just as tightly. Her own eyes began to shed tears of happiness as she did so. Around them…the flakes seemed to recede and fly away, up into the air, and vanish, so that everyone could see those two embracing tightly. Even the air around them felt warmer…

The others were surprised, but soon felt no less happiness. Olaf gaped in delight and began to wring his stick arms together with a lovestruck look in his eyes. Sven lit up and hung his tongue out in delight. Kristoff…well, on his part he wanted to run forward and hug Anna himself. But he managed to restrain himself for now, merely smiling at both of them. Smiling…and continuously wiping at his own eyes and muttering something about the glare on the snow…

Anna and Elsa honestly could have stayed that way for the next year and they wouldn't have cared. However, Elsa's own trembling voice eventually broke the silence.

"Anna…you were going to die for me…?"

The princess merely smiled wider. Elsa felt a light shrug coming from her. "I love you, Elsa." She simply said…as if that was all the explanation that was necessary…which it was.

Olaf's voice let out a happy gasp at that, and his voice rang over both of them. "An act of true love..."

When Anna heard that...she honestly felt surprised. Yet as her mind went over it, she couldn't help but feel yet a bit more "childishly immature". Apparently, she still didn't understand love enough. This whole time...she had thought she needed a kiss from her one true love to save her... But true love was not something that was confined to the romantic attraction between a man and a woman. She learned right then and there that the love a family had for one another...the love two sisters could have for one another...could be just as strong. Sometimes...far stronger.

Perhaps that was what the trolls had been trying to tell her...

Elsa continued to embrace Anna after that a bit longer, but her own blue eyes opened and looked about. When they did…she saw it. The flakes that had pulled away from the two of them. The air seeming a bit warmer… No…not seeming warmer. It _was_ warmer. Not only that…but she realized what she was doing. She was hugging Anna as tightly as she could…but there wasn't a trace of frost anywhere on her sister. Even where her hands touched her, nothing.

She had to have been hugging her for a good five minutes now…and not the slightest speck of snow was anywhere on Anna.

At once…it hit Elsa.

When was the only time in her entire life that she could recall feeling like she was in full control of her power? When she felt it was something purely for her to enjoy? When she didn't fear it in the least and merely thought of it as something beautiful and wonderful?

_When I was a child. _She realized. _When I used it to make skating rinks and snowmen for Anna. When she would climb into my bed at night and ask me to play with her. Or when she'd take my hand so I could help her steal chocolate from the kitchen. Or when we played with those silly little dolls mom and dad made of us… When…_

_ When all I could feel was love for her._

Thirteen years… Thirteen years Elsa had sat in that room feeling doing so was an act of love for Anna. And perhaps it was…but only partially. For those thirteen years she had spent most of her time fearing she would hurt Anna, her parents, and everyone. Everything she felt…everything she had running through her mind every second of every day…and had only gotten worse as her power had grown…was ultimately self-centered. It was toward herself…feeling she had to suppress herself, control herself, stop herself from feeling anything. And she did…but in the end all she successfully did was repress any feeling good or bad inside of her…save fear. That's why her power kept coming out in bursts. That's why it kept being uncontrollable. This whole time…she never let herself feel love or affection for another human being because she thought she would hurt them.

She was right…she _had_ been a fool. It was right there all along. It was so easy…and yet she had been doing everything to stop herself from trying it. To not approach her power from the standpoint of trying to restrain it within herself, to hold it back…but to think of it how it affected others. How she _wanted_ it to be seen and felt by others…from the standpoint of someone who loved them.

_It's worth a try… After all…it would be something I never tried in thirteen years…_

Suddenly, Anna felt Elsa release her. She leaned up a bit at that…but saw Elsa only softly smiling back at her. She realized she was going to do something. With that in mind, Anna willingly parted from her and stepped back. As for Elsa, she turned and looked away toward Arendelle. She took a few steps from Anna and the others, who were using the moment to come closer. Then, the queen closed her eyes and thought.

_I love Anna…Arendelle…this country…and everything in it. I don't want them to hurt or suffer anymore. I want my power only to reflect that love…my love…to them. _

With that, she held up her hands.

Immediately, the snow that was suspended in the air went into the sky. Not only that…but the snow lying around on the frozen fjord began to rise as well, as if being drawn into it by a cosmic force. About the only one immune to this was Olaf, who looked about in amazement. Anna and Kristoff themselves gasped a bit and then did the same…and as for Sven, he tried to lick at the rising snowflakes. But it wasn't just that. The ice itself covering the fjord began to break into flakes and rise as well…

Back in Arendelle, the effect was there too. The snow draping over all of the buildings and castle began to rise into to the air flake by flake. Luckily, it was a fast process. Soon, it was coming up in streams, rising far faster than it could have possibly fallen down. The pines surrounding the country began to groan in relief as the snowy weight was removed from them. Flowers that had long since been buried began to slowly emerge from under the snowdrifts. And soon…more people were beginning to step outside as the sun overhead shone brighter, and the air grew warmer…

On the fjord, ships groaned and rolled as well…and landed back in the rapidly thawing water. As the ice grew thinner and thinner, they began to float once again it, freed from their own icy loads. As the air grew warmer and Anna and Kristoff's breath stopped misting, they felt themselves suddenly lifted up. Underneath them all, a ship that had long since been weighed down by the snow and ice was suddenly freed, and began to come back to the surface, providing a platform for them as well as Olaf, Sven, and Elsa, who continued to hold her hands to the sky as the country filled with color, warmth, and light again. All of the ice and snow gradually broke into nothing and vanished, and traced into the sky. As it started to run out, what was left was icy streams rising high into the air in faint traces…but it no longer mattered as the sun grew warmer and warmer. Anna herself, after spending the better part of the day freezing, felt the desire to start removing her cloak as it grew sunny and bright… All of Arendelle was revealed again, from the lovely city to the spectacular castle…still hung with all the banners and decorations that had been covered under the snow of the queen's coronation.

And everyone, from the people in the city to the nobles at the balcony, gazed in wonder at the sight. In spite of everything they had been through, as the snow pulled up and the warmth returned…they found themselves in awe of the beauty of seeing the white flakes drawn up and into the blue sky. They found themselves in awe of the power the queen displayed…

Elsa opened her eyes and made a few last faint gestures, drawing the snow into the air to form one magnificent, gigantic, crystal snowflake in the sky. Once there, she swung her hands forth and in a breaking motion…and instantly it shattered into millions of tiny pieces…and vanished.

Summer had returned.

Anna hadn't felt such amazement since she was a little girl…although she had the vague sensation that back in those times she had seen such wondrous things…and thought they were the greatest ever. After a moment, she looked down to Elsa. She was still clothed in ice, but it didn't seem as if her gown would be going anywhere anytime soon. She looked back and smiled at her, and Anna gave her a crafty grin of her own.

"I _told_ you that you could do it."

Elsa, in a rather uncharacteristic turn, let herself laugh.

Anna, at that point, at last allowed herself to look away from Elsa…and right to the large, approaching, young man nearing her. She looked up to Kristoff for a moment with a smile of her own, before the two put their arms around each other and gave a strong embrace as well. Anna let her head lean against his chest for a moment as he lowered his around her.

"…Don't ever scare me doing something like that again." He told her.

"Believe me…_I_ don't ever want to scare _me_ doing something like that again…" Anna responded.

The two continued to hug for a moment, before Sven happily came forward and tried to interject, sticking in his big wet nose and nuzzling Anna. She giggled as she parted and gave him a pet on the head.

Olaf, on his part, grinned wide and cheered…even as he swiftly began to turn to slush, drip copious amounts of water, and his body parts started to drop off one by one.

"This is the happiest day of my life!" He said as he sank about two inches before their eyes. "…Also, quite possibly, the last…" He threw in as his mouth began to slump over.

Anna turned to him on hearing this, and instantly paled. "Olaf!"

Elsa, however, remained calm and merely let out a small chuckle. "Hold on, little guy…" She said as she pointed her hand at him and proceeded to make a few simple spiral gestures.

In response, an icy cold wind whipped around the snowman, plucking him and his half melted remains from the ground, reforming them, and reassembling them in the proper order. Once that was done, the snowy mist drew itself over his head, formed a small cloud, and then released…soon letting down a few light flakes around him. Anna, watching this all, was impressed yet again. Apparently, just like with her dress, Elsa could just "wrap something in a zone of cold air" indefinitely. At any rate, Olaf was overjoyed, clasping his stick arms in delight. "My own personal flurry!"

Anna couldn't help but smile in response. It seemed the snowman _would_ get to enjoy summer after all.

Yet even as she was enjoying this, a spluttering and sputtering was heard from the side of the ship. Everyone turned and looked…and was just in time to see a water-logged and sore Hans finish climbing up the side ladder of the ship and climb onto deck.

Kristoff's happy look immediately turned far darker than when he had met Anna as she heard his fists tighten under his mittens, which he moved to start taking off… He may not have seen the "full story", but he had seen Hans attempt to kill Elsa and Anna jump in front of him, and that was enough for him to realize that he deserved to have a few of his teeth knocked in… However, he only got two steps before Anna reached out and took his arm, causing him to stop. As Hans still coughed and hacked seawater from his lungs, she held up a hand to the mountain man.

"It's ok…I can handle this."

He held a moment, but then stayed back. As for Anna, she figured maybe it was time she showed a bit more "maturity" herself and handle this situation as a "true princess" might. She looked forward…before drawing herself up much as Elsa had done before this began, holding her head more even and high, putting her arms before her, and calmly walking forward to the prince.

Just as he finished coughing and looked up, Anna came to a stop before him. He blinked in surprise, and then leaned up to face her. "An…Anna?" He asked. "You're alive? But…your sister froze your heart!"

The fact that there wasn't nearly as much fear or cringing as the princess would expect from someone who had tried to kill not one but _two_ members of a royal family in their home country was not lost on Anna…but she wanted to try out this "emotional restraint" thing just a bit longer.

"The only one here with a frozen heart, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles," She calmly and evenly responded like a "proper" royal. "Is _you_."

She turned around afterward to face the others. For a moment, she held that face and that look…before it rapidly turned.

_Yeah…I was right. Ruling the "right" way sucks._

Her face flooding with anger, she snapped around, seized Hans' collar with her left arm, and rapidly smashed him in the face with a right jab so strong that in addition to sending a rather loud and resounding _smack_ out through the air, he was knocked clean backward, over the rail, sent crashing down into a rowboat suspended from the side of the ship, and then crashed in it back into the fjord.

Kristoff blinked in astonishment for a moment…but then reminded himself that, by now, he should have expected more from the fiery young woman than she gave on appearances. When she turned and moved back to him, she didn't even shake her knuckles at all after delivering such a hit.

"That was nice." He said as she returned. "Did it feel as good as it looked?"

"You have _no_ idea." She grinned back.

* * *

_To be continued..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: My one legitimate complaint with the movie was the deus ex machina that was Elsa's "Eureka! Love!" moment. However, I forgive it for that. It seems apparently from what I know of the original plot that Elsa's own power was always under her control and she could have ended the winter whenever she wanted. When the plot changed, however, the writers were left with a hole they had dug for themselves and needed a resolution. Hopefully, this version of the story made it more plausible.

And yes, I made Anna "swear" a bit too. I originally wrote "stinks"...but it lacked the "punch", pardon the pun, I wanted.


	12. Chapter 11 - The Return of the Queen

_Chapter 11 – "The Return of the Queen"_

* * *

Naturally, things didn't quite go "back to normal" immediately after that. There was still the matter of what Queen Elsa had done, and the fact that, aside from what basically amounted to a royal and official "oops, sorry", there was little to no recompense for all of the visiting nobles. Most of the ships were mostly intact, and she agreed to refit all of the ones that had been damaged free of charge, and in the time it took everyone had to stay in Arendelle a bit longer than they had intended, in addition to the two day "holdover". As remarkable as it seemed, there were several nobles who simply accepted her apology and left it at that, mostly ones who had been closer with the country when her father had been alive and/or benefitted a great deal from commerce with Arendelle. Others, however, wanted a stronger punishment inflicted.

However, in the end, they found they had little recourse for being able to demand such a punishment. As had been noted earlier, there was no decree or law anywhere, least of all in Arendelle, which declared that "bringing forth a severe winter on the land for two days" was a punishable offense. Some accused her of being a witch or sorceress and that such an act was against God, but there was absolutely no proof. Not once had anyone heard Elsa utter a single blasphemy or invoke any infernal power. They could search the castle from top to bottom but would find nothing heathen or profane. By the queen's own admission, she was simply born with her power, and no one could find the slightest evidence to the contrary. The murder charge was, of course, completely false. It was Hans who had conspired to murder the princess, not the queen, and had boldly lied about her death to everyone about it to try and secure the throne for himself. The queen and princess were victims of a plot, the more sympathetic nobles and court officials stated, which, for all they knew, could have been part of the reason the former fled in fear. Therefore, no one else dared accuse the queen of anything that required imprisonment or execution for fear they would be seen in the same light. After all…the princess was back. If they did such a thing, then she would be in a position to do with them as she pleased. They were, in fact, still on Arendelle's soil and subject to its laws and ruling authority. And that, ultimately, overrode any of their thoughts or wishes. All of this had happened to the nation of Arendelle. The person who would ultimately make the choice about who deserved punishment was either Queen Elsa herself or Princess Anna, and the latter didn't seem to think the former deserved any further action. Although the past two days had been "unpleasant", to say the least, no one had died and, whether through by fate or luck, no one even had a severe case of frostbite that had done permanent damage. The only remaining recourse would have been to appeal to the people…but, frankly, there had been so much confusion, heresay, one noble saying one thing, another noble saying another, rumor, and supposition that no one really understood what had happened that night anymore. The only thing the people _could_ be certain of was what they saw…namely Queen Elsa undoing the winter with a few waves of her hands. Therefore, there was actually the pervading rumor that not only was she not the cause of this whole mess at all, but had actually been the _savior_ of the country.

And after all this, if the disagreeing nobles were still unsatisfied, still angry at Arendelle, and still wanting revenge of one form or another…one clearly undeniable fact remained that became clear as soon as Elsa made her "grand return" to the castle still clothed in a garment of shimmering ice…with a living snowman as part of her retinue.

This woman was neither a fool nor weak. She had power that essentially made her a god. With the slightest gesture, she could encase an ocean in impenetrable ice. With another, she could raise an army of invincible snow warriors. With a third, she could summon forth a hellish blizzard that would cut down to the marrow. No army or navy on the face of the Earth stood a prayer against her if they were foolish enough to declare war on Arendelle…

Did they really wish to make such a woman their enemy?

With that in mind, they were forced to just "grin and bear it". And pretty much all of them made sure to deliver their respects to the queen as well before departing.

When all was fixed, the country was back on track, and the nobles finally began to depart, two ships in particular, however, stood out above all the others…

* * *

Hans gave a bit of an exclamation before the two Arendelle guards roughly threw him into the small deck cell on the ship, making sure his head landed firmly in the "toilet bucket" on doing so. His fine white attire was rather stained and filthy now, and he looked rather sore and unclean after having spent a few days in the castle's dungeon himself, this time on the opposite side of the bars. He groaned and struggled to rise up again as the door was slammed behind him and locked.

Further up on deck, the noble whose ship this belonged to gestured behind him as he walked with one of the queen's courtiers toward the ramp leading back to the deck.

"I should be more than happy to 'escort' this cur back to the Southern Isles on the way back home." He told him as he walked. He cracked a small smile afterward. "We shall see what his twelve older brothers think of his behavior, eh?"

The courtier smiled a bit in response before giving a dignified bow. "Arendelle thanks you for your assistance in this matter."

The noble bowed back in greeting, and the courtier turned and began to descend the ramp. As he reached the dock, and the two guards that had accompanied him to "guide" the prince to his new "quarters" while on deck, he saw two more equally-rough-looking and dark-appearing guards escorting a much smaller, scrawnier noble forward. Behind him, two more pairs of guards were handling his "bodyguards" separately, neither of them looking terribly happy.

Arendelle may not have been able to prove that the duke made an assassination attempt…but his statement in support for Hans' false claims was far more incriminating. Not to mention his repeated calls of "monster", "sorceress", and the death of the queen. Although he had apologized profusely, claiming he had been extorted and blackmailed, and begged an audience with either the princess or the queen on numerous occasions, his pleas had met deaf ears. And now he was being removed from the city by force, more or less. Yet all the way up the dock, he continued to whine.

"I…I was desperate! Under extreme duress! Anyone in my position could have acted the same way! I've been under extreme strain! This whole episode has caused me physical and psychological trauma! Ack! My neck! My back!"

The guards halted here, but not because of his repeated pleas. Rather because they were at the ramp to the ship as well as the courtier…who also regarded him darkly as he descended to his level. Finally, he fumed and held his finger up.

"This is an outrage! I demand to see the queen!"

"Oh, I happen to have a message from the queen right here, as it were." The courtier dully answered, causing the duke to look to him. Soon after, he reached into his vest, produced an official royal decree marked with the seal of the country, broke it, unrolled it, and held it before himself and the duke so that he could see as he read it aloud, although he skipped to the bottom just before her signature.

"'Henceforth, the kingdom of Arendelle will both now and forever suspend all trade relations, agreements, and partnerships with the kingdom of Weaseltown.'"

_"Weselton! Weselton!"_ The duke exclaimed in fury as the guards proceeded to escort him onto the boat. As for the courtier, he calmly rolled the decree up again and passed it along to the next set of guards.

Of course, Queen Elsa had known the correct pronunciation all along. She just had told the courtier personally to make sure to say that when the decree was passed along…as her own personal "note".

After all…she hadn't been terribly fond of being called a witch for two days by the duke either.

* * *

"Can I take the blindfold off yet?"

"No, not yet! Hold on just a bit longer!"

Kristoff let out a minor chuckle as Anna continued to lead him on by the hand along the coast. She had to admit…he looked even more cute when he finally ditched his heavy clothing for a pair of suspenders and a sweater with the sleeves rolled up, even if he could stand to wear a bit less in this kind of weather. It would make him sweat less…and that would definitely help the smell a bit more. She herself was glad to be out of the winter dress and back into a much lighter one that could feel the sun and the breeze. Far less restrictive…which was a big help now as she dashed along, darting around one person after another en route to the palace as she guided him toward where the "big surprise" was waiting for him. She made sure to keep it modest, however. Now that she could freely come and go from the castle, she realized it was better to dress simply so that no more would-be suitors would instantly recognize her as the princess. Besides…she liked her own hair hanging down a bit, even if she was still getting used to looking at herself in the mirror with a full head of red hair as opposed to that one white strand…

_Dong_.

Abruptly, Anna felt a sharp pull on the arm leading Kristoff along, and looked back…instantly wincing. She had gotten a bit too lost in her thoughts again…and had proceeded to lead the mountain man directly into one of the iron poles for shore lamps on the coast, which he now found himself pressed against with a rather stunned look. She quickly went back, carefully led him around, and began to carry him on again.

"Er…sorry about that…"

"Now I _really_ want to take the blindfold off…" He grunted. "When I said I had a thick skull, I didn't say you should 'try it out'…"

At any rate, Anna only led him a bit further before coming to a stop. She reached up and grabbed the blindfold.

"Ok…here we are!" She pulled it off soon after, and gestured forward. "Ta-da!"

Kristoff blinked and looked forward, his jaw nearly dropping. Sitting before him, a fresh coat of paint on its gleaming surface, the rails perfectly sharpened, emblazoned with a gold medal of Arendelle's standard on the front of it, and with a fine new mandolin stretched against the cushioned seat with a large bow on it, was a new sleigh. One of the best…and most expensive…ones he had ever seen. Not only that, but holding his own head and antlers high, his coat freshly cleaned and brushed, Sven, having a proper and dignified look about him, "stately" walked out in front of it, a red satin ribbon with a silver metal across his chest tied around his neck, as he approached it, and then gave it an elegant rub with his own hoof as he showed it off to Kristoff.

"Told you I owed you a sleigh, remember?" Anna said with a grin as she turned to Kristoff, who seemed to still be having trouble putting his eyes back in his head.

A grin exploded across his face…but then quickly faded again. "Oh, I can't accept-"

"Yes you can!" Anna snapped back, her face almost turning angry for a moment, pointing a finger in his face. "You have to! No takebacks!" Smoothing out a bit more, she gestured to the medal on Sven's neck. Kristoff, after getting over the initial surprise of Anna's retort, gave it a look.

He noticed there was an inscription around it, as well as the emblem of a snowflake.

"See? You're the official Royal Icebearer to the kingdom of Arendelle!" Anna proclaimed.

Kristoff kept his smile although his eyes became dull as they used to. "That's not a real position."

"Yes it is! She made it this morning!"

The mountain man decided not to press it…or the fact of what exactly a "royal icebearer" could do for a queen who could make as much ice as she wanted with a wave of her fingers… The fact was it was a great new sleigh…one he had used to fantasize about. After a moment, he turned to Anna, who was fully smiling again, "glowing" more visibly than ever now that she wasn't hidden behind winter clothes. He felt a bit warm inside just looking at her as she held her hands folded behind her and looked to him.

"So… do you like it?"

His smile returned. "Like it? I love it!" He reached out and took her by the waist, and soon she gave a bit of an exclamation herself as he picked her up and spun her around once before setting her down. "I could kiss you!" However, he trailed off here, growing nervous at what he just said. His face turned red. "That is…I _could_ kiss you. I'd like to…if…er…um…that is…" He began to run a hand through his hair. "May I? We me? I mean…wait what?" He shook his head in confusion. "May we?"

His face turned even redder a second later as Anna leaned up and gave him one on the cheek. She leaned back and smiled at him.

"We may."

A moment later, she found herself swept up again and leaned over before Kristoff gave her a much bigger one right on the lips. She was stunned only for a few moments, before just leaning back and returning it, putting her arms back on him to hold up as she did so. A few seconds passed, before he leaned up and set her back on her feet again. Both were rather red after that. He swallowed a bit as he looked to Anna, and she folded her hands and looked back.

"Um…Anna?" He said after a moment. "I…I know this may be…you know…er…um…a little abrupt…and…I know you…uh…just got out of one that didn't end so well…but…"

"Er…Kristoff?"

He stopped talking, and then looked back up to Anna. She kept her hands folded but was still smiling as she looked to him.

"If…you're really nervous about saying what I think you're about to say…" She answered him. "You know…I…kind of like where we're at…right now…for the moment. So…maybe you should just…hold that thought for a few more weeks, ok?" She immediately held her hands up and shook her head. "I mean, it's not like…you know…I would have said 'no' if you said what I thought you were going to say…but…I'm really enjoying where we're at right now at the moment…and…I think it would be nice if we both enjoyed it just a little longer…if that would be alright." She held a moment, and turned her head. "I mean…I'd like to see how you eat, you know?" She offered with a small smile. "And…I'm pretty much 100% sure I'll be more than ready to still say 'yes' if you ask me in a few weeks."

Kristoff held for a few moments, but then smiled a bit more and readily nodded. "Yeah…yeah, sure!" He said after a bit. "Yeah, I mean…that's fine. I…still need to pick out a chunk of ice anyway… You know, one of _those_ kinds of chunks of ice…once I've actually started making an income again… And…I kind of like where we're at too for right now… Kind of gives your sister a chance to like me…"

Anna let out a gasp on hearing that. "…My sister! It's almost time!" She exclaimed as she remembered. "Come on, we're going to be late!" She said as she reached out, took Kristoff by the hand, and immediately took off again in the same direction everyone else was going, leading him along. He merely snickered and began to follow again with a smile on his face…

Before she led him right back into the same pole.

* * *

Olaf was indeed a "happy snowman". Although he had caused his share of shrieks, gasps, screams, and generally frightened people at first…after a couple of days of casually walking about the town, the people of Arendelle had begun to grow as accustomed to him as they were to the queen…as well as the perpetual snow cloud that hung over his head keeping him from melting. As he walked down the street, he looked to the sunny blue sky and let out an exhale of contentment.

"Ah…isn't summer lovely?" He remarked to himself as he walked along. At any rate, he lowered his head soon after, and exclaimed in delight. His favorite thing about summer, a fresh pot of flowers, was just in front of him. He immediately went around it, leaned over, and took in a big whiff. A lovely flowery smell entered…well…whatever on his carrot was allowing him to detect smell. After doing so, he sighed in delight…

…before he felt an itching against his face. He soon spasmed a bit, and stifled as he felt the itching, scratching feeling growing stronger. He tried to hold it back, gagging and restraining it for a few moments…before he found he couldn't. With a large inhale, he sneezed loudly. The force of it immediately launched his carrot nose right off of his face.

He shook his head after doing so, and looked forward…noticing his nose was gone. He exclaimed in surprise, before looking to see where it had landed…and found Sven standing across from him. For one moment, he saw the carrot resting in his mouth, the fat end protruding from it.

Before it was sucked completely inside and Sven gave a smile.

Olaf let out a gasp…before he let his head bow regretfully. His stick arms slumped as his eyes turned to the ground from losing his prized nose… He would have sniffled if he still had it…

Before he suddenly found the carrot, coated with reindeer slobber, shoved back onto his face by a reindeer's jaws. He turned his head up, and saw Sven had walked over to him happily and done so, and then gave him a playful lick across the fact. The snowman looked back in surprise, but then burst into a smile and a laugh before giving him a hug around the neck.

* * *

During the entire "extended coronation celebration"…the gates to the castle had not closed once. The people freely came and went just as they had thirteen years earlier. The courtyard was currently filled with them. And standing in their midst at the moment, the princess standing slightly off to one side, was Queen Elsa herself. Her crown was gone, as was her formal, concealing, rigid attire. Rather, she was still as she had been for those two days…the "snow queen". Her hair was still loosely braded and swept back, and she was still clad in the flowing garment of ice. However…there were no more stares of fear. No more people holding their children away from her. In fact, whatever children were able were eagerly watching her now and hopping up and down, much as Anna once had, waiting for her. Most of the others saw that she still had that look of "regality" about her…but she seemed so much more animated and alive than what they had seen in the brief glimpses of her earlier. She looked so much younger…

"Is everyone ready?" She called out to the crowd.

A chorus of cheers and applause came back.

Elsa smiled in response, before she brought her hands together and whipped them around. Soon, an icy trace began to form in them, and a moment later she had formed a ball of glittery diamond. She swept her arms to the sky soon after, sending it high into the air, and once at a certain level it exploded into a beautiful snowflake that expanded for a moment…before shattering into a gentle flurry. Not a constant one, mind you…just a light dusting of snow which gently fluttered down…

And as it did, the castle changed. It wasn't "replaced"…but it was "accented" as a few columns of ice joined the existing foundations and rose into the air, creating delicate ice arches and frames over the whole of the castle, including the inner courtyard grounds, like a type of celebration archway or streamers. In the end, it made the castle stand out with a beautiful icy blue tone.

Once that was done, Elsa stepped her foot down on the courtyard…and instantly it turned into a sheet of flawless ice. At once, the children laughed and cheered before they began to run around on it, slipping, sliding, and some of them using wooden boxes or skates, a few having metal. The parents either watched them, admired the décor, or began to wander about the outer castle again talking and sightseeing. As a final "touch", Elsa swept her hand over the fountain. As opposed to the jagged, irregular thing it had been a while ago, it became the same beautiful layered design it had been back in her palace. That done, she folded her hands and looked over her handiwork for a moment, smiling. She was still getting used to having a smile on her face, after all…just as she was getting used to the fact that the thing she once thought would bring fear and hate to her was becoming the thing she was admired and marveled at for…

Anna slowly stepped up to her side, moving carefully on the ice. She had to admit…it was still a funny sensation…enjoying the heat of the sun while the ground below her remained cold and perfect…but it brought back happy memories. And she felt, in time, people in the kingdom who were still remembering the two day winter would come to find happiness and beauty in it too… She looked back to Elsa soon after.

"…Really great having the gates open all the time, don't you think?"

The older sister turned back to her, still smiling. "We are _never_ closing them again." After that, she got in front of her and held her hands out. "Now come on…time for your skating lesson."

Anna blanched a bit. "Oh…no thanks, I don't-"

Elsa, however, only grinned a bit more slyly as Anna felt herself being pushed up to the tune of a crinkling. She looked down…and saw that her footwear now had perfect blades of ice on the bottom of them, transforming them into skates.

"Oh…oh, Elsa…I don't think…"

"Come on, little sis…" Elsa said playfully as she took her hands. "Are you really going to tell me that _I _have to take _you_ to have fun this time?"

Soon after, she effortlessly began to glide out onto the ice, pulling Anna with her. She was fearful only for a moment, her heart leaping a bit inside her…before her older sister began to effortlessly and flawlessly lead her around. Graceful and calm without any unbalance or spills. Slowly, Anna eased into it. It brought back more happy memories…thoughts of a time where she was led around on an icy pond by Elsa…and a vague, vague feeling of doing so while Elsa seemed to have icy mist coming from her hands… With the memories slowly came a smile.

As Elsa gradually moved behind her, beginning to let her take the initiative, and she saw Olaf freely scoot around on his own snowy legs, and Kristoff actually going in time with Sven, who had somehow acquired four skates for all four hooves and yet was enjoying himself very well, the smile only grew wider.

And as she looked to the sky, seeing how blue and beautiful it was with the sun shining down on the castle, filled with people, and tinted by Elsa's magic…the darkness, gloom, and loneliness that had surrounded her for thirteen years slowly lifted and melted away as easily as a wall of ice in the summer sun…replaced by a warm, gentle feeling of having someone she loved very, very much back once again.

With that thought making her "glow" more than anything else had in years, she looked back to her sister and took the first skating push of her own.

* * *

_To be concluded..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The way "Frozen" ended, in the scene with Anna and Kristoff, after having known each other for two days instead of just one, it wasn't perfectly clear that Anna had "learned her lesson". Hence, I extended that scene a little bit to make sure it was overt.


	13. Epilogue - The Lost Crown

_Epilogue – "The Lost Crown"_

* * *

Far away on the frozen North Mountain, wrapped in ice and snow, summer or winter, all the time and for all eternity, far above in a perfect ice palace having been crafted lovingly and left to sit there for all time, a single glimmer that was not ice radiated. The tiara of the queen of Arendelle lay discarded on the perfect icy floor.

At length, the ground shuddered a bit as a shadow fell over it. The snow ogre, having finally dragged itself out of the chasm, rejoined with its leg, and "calmed down" enough to have some of its icy spikes recede, glared down at it for a moment, its twisted, grumpy face letting out a sound of deep breathing as he looked it over.

He looked up again a moment later, his head looking about. But just as before, there was no sign of his creator/mistress. Or anyone else for that matter. It was just him and the palace now. He looked back down to the tiara, and soon snatched it up from the floor and brought it before him. Soon, he held it high and gazed at it a moment.

Then…he reached up a bit more and placed it on his own head.

After a moment, his twisted, cavernous mouth turned into a gentle smile.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I thought of omitting this...but any of you who sat through the credits of "Frozen" recognized this short bit as the end-credits sequence, and I figured if this story was popular at all, at least one or two people would ask why it wasn't there. :P

I hope you enjoyed this story, and please check out my other "true" fanfiction! :D


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